Casino system

ABSTRACT

A casino system in a casino using a gaming chip to which an RFID tag storing identification information is attached, comprising a registration device for registering the identification information of the gaming chip to be used in the casino, and a database for storing a list of the identification information registered by the registration device. The list includes status information that indicates whether or not the gaming chip is usable, and the registration device makes the status information usable for the gaming chip that has already been registered.

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Patent Application No.2020-176900, filed in Japan on Oct. 21, 2020, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a casino system applied to casinos thatuse casino item, a casino item usable in casinos, and a method formanufacturing casino item.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY

Casino items used in casinos requires a high level of security, andcasino items should be strictly managed. For example, casino items aremanufactured in a manufacturing factory, but there is a risk of theft bymalicious persons during the process of transporting the items from themanufacturing factory to the casino and using those on the floor area.There is also a risk of counterfeit casino items being used in the floorarea of the casino to help players win the game unfairly.

The casino items that require high security are typically gaming chips.Each gaming chip is given a unique identifier. The gaming chip containsan RFID tag, which stores the identification information. The casinosystem will also use a database that stores the identificationinformation of the gaming chips. By reading the identificationinformation from the RFID tag of the gaming chip and referring to thedatabase at each of multiple locations in the casino that handle casinoitems, various security managements can be performed (see, for example,International Application Publication No. WO2008/120749).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The purpose of the present invention is to enhance the securitymanagement of casino items given identification information.

Solution to Solve the Problems

One type of casino system is a casino system in a casino that uses acasino item to which an RFID tag storing identification information isattached, and is equipped with a registration device that registers theidentification information of the casino item that can be used in thecasino, and a storage device that stores a list of the identificationinformation registered by the registration device. The registrationdevice performs an invalidation process to invalidate the registrationof the identification information of the casino item when the casinoitem whose identification information is stored in the storage device asusable casino item meet the specified conditions.

With this configuration, the registration of casino item that meet thepredetermined conditions for invalidating the registration can beinvalidated, and the invalidation process can be performed for casinoitem that were once registered but later became in a state where theyshould not be registered. The invalidation process includes deleting theitem from the list of the storage device, storing the information thatthe item is invalid in the list of the storage device, and furtherincludes storing the information that the item is suspicious, needsattention, or is a candidate for invalidation in the list of the storagedevice.

In the casino system described above, the system is further equippedwith a reader that reads the identification information from the RFIDtag of the casino item to be registered. The identification informationof the casino item that is determined to be genuine can be registered asthe identification information of the usable casino item.

This configuration can guarantee that the casino item to be registeredare genuine.

The casino system described above, may be further equipped with a readerthat reads the identification information from the RFID tag of thecasino item to be registered, and the registration device may registerthe identification information read by the reader.

This configuration can prevent incorrect registration in which theidentification information stored in the RFID tag of the casino itemdiffers from the identification information stored in the storage deviceby the registration device.

The casino system described above, may be further equipped with a readerthat reads the RFID tags of the plurality of the casino item housed in acase, and the registration device may register the plurality of theidentification information read by the reader.

With this configuration, the registration work can be performed quicklyand smoothly.

In the casino system described above, the registration device may storethe identification information of the usable casino items with a flagindicating that they are usable. With this configuration, theinvalidation process can be performed by updating the flag.

The casino system described above, may be further equipped with a readerthat reads the identification information from the RFID tag of thecasino item, and the registration device may perform the invalidationprocess for the casino item for which the identification informationcannot be effectively read by the reader.

With this configuration, the registration of casino item whose RFID tagis malfunctioning can be invalidated.

The above, casino system described above, may be further equipped with areader that reads the identification information from the RFID tag ofthe casino item, and the casino item may carry information foridentifying the casino item in a manner other than the RFID tag. Theregistration device may identify the casino item whose registrationshould be invalidated using the information to identify the casino item,and perform the invalidation process for the casino item whoseidentification information cannot be read by the reader.

With this configuration, even when the RFID tag is faulty and itsidentification information cannot be read, the casino item to beinvalidated can be identified by relying on the identificationinformation carried by other manner.

In the casino system described above, the registration device mayperform the invalidation process on the casino item that are related toor suspected to be related to an illegal game.

This configuration allows the invalidation process to be performed onthe casino items that are related to (or suspected to be related to) anillegal game, thus reducing the possibility that inappropriate casinoitems will continue to be used even when the game irregularity isdiscovered but a problematic casino item cannot be identified.

The casino system described above, may be further equipped with a readerthat reads the identification information from the RFID tag of thecasino item, and the casino item may carry information for identifyingthe casino item in a manner other than the RFID tag, and theregistration device may read the information from the RFID tag of thecasino item with the reader. When the identification information readfrom the RFID tag of the casino item is not registered as theidentification information of the usable casino item in the registrationdevice, the registration device may identify the casino item whoseregistration should be invalidated using the information for identifyingthe casino item, and perform the invalidating process.

With this configuration, when the identification information read fromthe RFID tag is not registered (e.g., it is assumed that theidentification information of the RFID tag has been illegallyrewritten), the identification information carried by other manner canbe used to identify the correct identification information of the casinoitem and perform the invalidation process, and the invalidation processcan be performed.

In the casino system described above, the RFID tag may storemanufacturing information indicating the manufacturing status of thecasino item, type information indicating the type of the casino item,and/or information on the casino in which the casino item is used, andthe storage device may store the manufacturing information, typeinformation, and information on the casino in which the casino item isused, along with the identification information. If the manufacturinginformation, the type of information, and/or the information of thecasino stored in the RFID tag does not match the manufacturinginformation, the type of information, and/or the information of thecasino stored in the storage device, the invalidation process may beperformed for the casino item with the identification information.

With this configuration, if the combination of the identificationinformation stored in the RFID tag and the other manufacturinginformation is different from the combination stored in the storagedevice, the registration invalidation process can be performed for sucha casino item.

In the casino system described above, the registration device may storein the storage device information indicating the year and month ofregistration for the identification information of the usable casinoitems, and perform the invalidation process for the casino items forwhich a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the year andmonth of registration by referring to the storage device.

With this configuration, a usable period can be set for casino items,and the invalidation process can be performed for casino items that haveexceeded the usable period.

The casino system described above, may have a management device at eachof the plurality of casino item handling locations in the casino thatnotifies the registration device of the identification information ofthe casino item to be invalidated, and the registration device may,based on the notification from the management device, perform theinvalidation process for the relevant casino item.

This configuration allows the casino item handling location to determinewhether or not the casino item meets the conditions for invalidating theregistration, and allows the registration device to perform theinvalidation process. The management device may determine on its ownthat the invalidation process should be carried out for the casino itemby performing the prescribed information processing on the detectedvalues of various sensors (including cameras) and make a notification,or it may receive instructions from the operator (e.g., dealer) and makea notification accordingly.

The casino system described above, may further comprise a storage trayfor storing the casino item owned by the casino at the casino itemhandling location, and a reading device that monitors the casino item byperiodically reading the RFID tags of the casino item stored in thestorage tray. In the reading device, the invalidation process may beperformed for the casino items that have been illegally taken out of thestorage tray.

With this configuration, the casino items illegally taken out of thestorage tray can be invalidated and cannot be used.

In the casino system described above, the casino may use a plurality oftypes of casino items, and the registration device may store the type ofthe casino items along with the identification information in thestorage device for each of the plurality of types of casino items, andthe registration device may perform the invalidation process for aspecific type of casino items.

With this configuration, when a new version of a specific type of casinoitems (e.g., $10 gaming chips) is introduced and the use of the oldversion is stopped, the old version can be invalidated simultaneously(e.g., after a certain period of notice and grace).

The casino system described above, may have a reader at each of theplurality of casino item handling locations in the casino to read theidentification information from the RFID tag of the casino item, and theregistration device may read the same identification information at thereaders of the plurality of casino item handling locations. In the casewhere the same identification information is read by the reading devicesof the plurality of the casino item handling locations, when thecombination of the readings satisfies the conditions for determiningfraud, the registration device may perform the invalidation process forthe casino item having the identification information.

With this configuration, it is possible to identify the illegal casinoitem and perform the invalidation process for the identified casinoitem. For example, if the same identification information is read at twocasino item handling locations that are far apart from each other withina very small time interval, it can be determined that there are multiplecasino item with the same identification information, and theinvalidation process can be performed. Also, if the identificationinformation of a casino item collected by the dealer and stored in thechip tray is subsequently read as the identification information of agaming chip bet in the betting area of the table, it can be determinedthat there is more than one casino item with such identificationinformation, or that the gaming chip was stolen from the chip tray, andthe invalidation process can be performed.

The casino system described above, may have a reader at each of theplurality of casino item handling locations in the casino that reads theidentification information from the RFID tag of the casino item, and theregistration device may perform the invalidation process for the casinoitem which identification information has not been read by the reader atany of the casino item handling locations in the casino for apredetermined period of time or longer.

This configuration allows the invalidation process to be performed forcasino item that has not been used by a player for a predeterminedperiod of time or longer.

The casino system described above, may be further equipped with a readerthat reads the identification information from the RFID tag of thecasino item to be invalidated, and the registration device may performthe invalidation process for the identification information read by thereader.

This configuration allows the invalidation process to be performed bycorrectly grasping the identification information of the casino item tobe invalidated.

In the casino system described above, the entrance of the casino may beequipped with a detection device that detects the casino item brought infrom outside the casino, and the registration device may perform theinvalidation process for the casino item detected by the detectiondevice.

With this configuration, if a casino item is brought into the casinofloor from the entrance despite the fact that it is prohibited, theinvalidation process can be performed for the casino item brought in.

The above, casino system is further provided with a reader installed ata casino item handling location in the casino to read the identificationinformation from the RFID tag of the casino item, and a verificationdevice to check the identification information read from the casino itemby the reader against the identification information stored in thestorage device.

With this configuration, it is possible to confirm whether or not thecasino item handled at a casino item handling location are the ones thathave been registered.

In the casino system described above the verification device normallycompares the identification information read by the reader with theidentification information read immediately before by the reader, and ifthere is a difference between the two, the verification device may matchthe identification information read by the reader with theidentification information stored in the memory device. If there is adifference between the two, the identification information read by thereader and the identification information stored in the storage devicecan be checked.

This configuration can reduce the load of the verification processcompared to the case where the verification is performed on theregistration device every time.

In the casino system described above, when there is new identificationinformation in the identification information read by the reading devicethat is not in the identification information read immediately before bythe reading device, the verification device may verify the newidentification information with the identification information stored inthe storage device.

With this configuration, the load of the verification process can bereduced compared to the case where verification is performed for allcasino item, because verification can be performed for casino item thatare newly brought into the casino item handling location.

In the casino system described above, the verification device normallycompares the identification information read by the reader with theidentification information read immediately before by the reader, andunder predetermined conditions, compares the identification informationread by the reader with the identification information of the casinoitem stored in the storage device.

This configuration allows the matching of casino item based on changesin the casino item at the casino item handling location.

In the casino system described above, the identification information mayinclude the tag identification information assigned by the manufacturerwho manufactured the RFID tag and the item identification informationassigned by the manufacturer who manufactured the casino item to whichthe RFID tag is attached.

This configuration can enhance the security of casino items.

In the casino system described above, the verification device normallyverifies the item identification information read from the casino itemby the reading device with the item identification information readimmediately before by the reading device, and, at a predetermined timingand/or under a predetermined condition, verifies the tag identificationinformation read from the casino item by the reading device with the tagidentification information stored in the storage device.

With this configuration, a plurality of security levels can beestablished for verification, and verification that emphasizes securitylevel and verification that emphasizes speed can be used separately.

In the casino system described above, the registration device deletesthe identification information in the list stored in the storage deviceas the invalidation process, adds a flag indicating that theidentification information in the list stored in the storage device isinvalid, or adds a flag indicating that the identification informationin the list stored in the storage device is invalid.

With this configuration, as a invalidation process, a status ofsuspicious can be given to the casino item, and although it cannot beconfirmed that it is an illegal casino item, it can alert the user whenit is suspicious.

In the casino system described above, the registration device may beprohibited from the subsequent registration of the identificationinformation of the casino item identified as those to be invalidated, ifthe identification information has not been registered.

This configuration can prevent the future registration of theidentification information once it is related to fraud.

In the casino system described above, the registration device mayprohibit the subsequent registration of the invalidated identificationinformation.

This configuration can prevent the future registration of identificationinformation once it has been invalidated.

In the casino system described above, the casino item may be used forbetting in the game by the player in the casino, and may be redeemablefor cash.

This configuration enhances the security of casino items that areredeemable for cash.

One type of casino item is a casino item used in any of the casinosystem described above, the casino item is has an RFID tag storing theidentification information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a process of manufacturing and using a casino itemaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a gaming chip as a casino item according tothe first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows information stored in an RFID tag of the gaming chipaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an overall structure of the casino system according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows data structure of information of each gaming chip recordedin the database according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an operation of a table system according tothe first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of a gaming chip as a casino item (with a decalremoved) according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a procedure room system of Variant 1according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a procedure room system of Variant 2according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of an overall configuration of thecasino according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a gaming chip according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of the gaming chip management systemaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram of a game table according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows how the gaming chips are moved according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows an example of data in a chip management database that isupdated by the first method of managing movement of the gaming chipsaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows an example of data in a chip management database that isupdated by the second method of managing movement of the gaming chipsaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 shows an example of data in a chip management database that isupdated by the fourth method of managing movement of the gaming chipsaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 shows an example of data in a chip management database that isupdated by the fifth method of managing movement of the gaming chipsaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows an example of data in a chip management database that isupdated by the fourth method of managing movement of the gaming chipsaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

The following is a detailed description of the casino system and themethod for manufacturing casino item with reference to the drawings.However, the invention is not limited by the following embodiments, andthe components in the following embodiments include those that can beeasily assumed by those skilled in the art or those that aresubstantially the same.

(FIRST EMBODIMENT) In the following, we will explain an example in whichthe casino item is a gaming chip as a substitute coin for playing games,but the casino item may be something other than a gaming chip, such as asubstitute coin for playing games that can be used for betting on gamesor that can be redeemed for money, called a plaque, jetton, or token.Casino item is not limited to substitute money for playing games, butcan also be, for example, a shuffled playing card package in whichmultiple decks of playing cards are shuffled and packaged. Further, thecasino item does not have to be an item that is distributed in thecasino, such as gaming chips, and do not have to be an item that isconsumed in large quantities in the casino and discarded, such asshuffle playing card packages, but can be, for example, membership cardsheld by players. The casino item managed in this embodiment may also bereferred to as security item, among others.

FIG. 1 shows a process of manufacturing and using a casino itemaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 showsa diagram of a gaming chip as a casino item according to the firstembodiment of the present invention. The gaming chip 72 has a differentcolor for each value. In other words, the color of the gaming chip 72represents the value of the gaming chip 72. As shown in FIG. 2 , theside of the gaming chip 72 shows a pattern that represents the value ofthe gaming chip 72. In this embodiment, a striped pattern including acolor representing the value appears on the side, and the value of thegaming chip 72 can be determined by only observing the side of the chip72 by this color. In addition, a decal 723 is affixed to the centers ofthe front surface and the back surface of the gaming chip 72, and anumber indicating the value of the gaming chip 72 is indicated on thedecal 723. In addition, an RFID tag 721 is built into the gaming chip72.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the chip manufacturing factory 200 as a chipmanufacturer procures RFID tags 721 from the RFID tag manufacturingfactory 100, uses them to manufacture gaming chips 72 with embedded RFIDtags 721, and provides them to the casino 300. The casino 300 purchasesgaming chips 72 with built-in RFID tags 721 from the chip manufacturingfactory 200, and operates games using the gaming chips 72 in the floorarea 302.

FIG. 3 shows information stored in an RFID tag of the gaming chipaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 3 , the RFID tag 721 has, as storage areas, a TID area 211 thatstores tag identification information granted by the manufacturer of theRFID tag 721 (RFID tag manufacturing factory 100), and an EPC area 212that stores item identification information granted by the manufacturerof the gaming chip 72 that incorporates the RFID tag 721 (chipmanufacturing factory 200). In the TID area 211, the tag identificationinformation is stored by the RFID tag manufacturing factory 100 thatmanufactures the RFID tag 721, and in the EPC area 212, and in the EPCarea 212, the item identification information is stored by the chipmanufacturing factory 200 that manufactures the gaming chip 72.

The tag ID unique to the RFID tag 721 is stored in the TID area 211 astag identification information, and the chip ID unique to the gamingchip 72 is stored in the EPC area 212 as item identificationinformation. The tag ID and the chip ID can each be used alone asidentification information to identify the gaming chip 72, or acombination of the tag ID and the chip ID can be used as identificationinformation. In addition to the chip ID, the EPC area 212 stores theattributes of the gaming chip (whether it is a non-redeemable NN chip ora redeemable cash chip) and its value ($10, $100, $1,000, etc.) as thetype information, and the manufacturing information, which identifiesthe manufacturing factory that manufactured the gaming chip 72. Themanufacturing factory ID, manufacturing facility ID, and the date ofmanufacture are stored as the manufacturing information, the casino IDis stored to identify the casino where the gaming chip 72 is used, andthe status (“usable” or “unusable”) and its update date are stored asthe activation information. In addition, the status (“usable” or“unusable”) and its update date are stored as activation information. Inaddition, the status (“usable” or “unusable”) and its update date arestored as activation information. Here, “usable” means it is allowed tobe used in the casino and “unusable” means it is not allowed to be usedin the casino.

The status may be represented by a flag. In this case, the status isinterpreted as “usable” when the flag is present, and “unusable” whenthe flag is not present. The status of “unusable” may be furthersubdivided. For example, “unusable” may include the statuses of“suspect”, “caution required”, “cancellation candidate”, etc., which areused when there is a suspicion of an illegal chip. In addition, some orall of the type information, manufacturing information, casino ID, chipID (item identification information), and activation information may bestored in the user area of the RFID tag 721, which is not shown, insteadof in the EPC area 212.

In order to manufacture a gaming chip 72 that incorporates an RFID tag721 at the chip manufacturing factory 200, an RFID tag 721 is firstmanufactured at the RFID tag manufacturing factory 100, where the tagidentification information to identify the RFID tag 721 is written inthe TID area 211 of the RFID tag 72. The RFID tag 72 manufactured at theRFID tag manufacturing factory 100 is provided to the chip manufacturingfactory 200. At the chip manufacturing plant 200, the gaming chip 72that incorporates the RFID tag 721 is manufactured. In the chipmanufacturing factory 200, the chip ID and other information (see FIG. 3) are written in the EPC area 212 of the RFID tag 721.

At the chip manufacturing factory 200, in parallel with the manufactureof the gaming chip 72, the combination of the tag ID and chip ID(hereinafter, the tag ID and chip ID are collectively referred to as“identification information”) is recorded in a data file 73. The chipmanufacturing factory 200 prepares a data file 73 in which the tag IDand chip ID are recorded. The chip manufacturing factory 200 suppliesthe manufactured gaming chips 72 to the casino 300 and also provides thedata file 73 to the casino 300 through a different route. The data file73 may be sent from the manufacturer of the gaming chip 72 to the casino300 by e-mail, or may be recorded on a portable storage medium andhanded over from the manufacturer of the gaming chip 72 to the casino300, or may be stored in a cloud storage by the manufacturer of thegaming chip 72 and downloaded by the casino 300. At this time, the datafile 73 is provided from the chip manufacturing factory 200 to thecasino 300 in an encrypted state using an appropriate method.

The casino 300 has a security area 301 where players 74 are not allowedto enter, and a floor area 302 where players 74 play games. The securityarea 301 has a warehouse 31 for storing gaming items including gamingchips 72, a procedure room 32 for registering and activating gamingchips 72, and a cashier 33 and a bank 34 leading to the floor area 302.

The cashier 33 has a window leading to the floor area 302. The cashier33 gives gaming chips 72 to the player 74 in the floor area 302 inexchange for cash, and gives cash to the player 74 in exchange forgaming chips 72 given by the player 74 in the floor area 302. In otherwords, the player 74 can purchase gaming chips 72 with cash through thewindow of the cashier 33 and can have the gaming chips 72 exchanged forcash.

The bank 34 fills and credits gaming chips 72 to and from the pit 35. Infill, the bank 34 supplies gaming chips to the pit 35 when the pit 35has insufficient gaming chips to supply the table 36. In credit, gamingchips 72 are returned from pit 35 to bank 34 when there are enoughgaming chips 72 in pit 35. For this purpose, the bank 34 is equippedwith a passageway or window to transfer gaming chips 72 to and from thefloor area 302. In the case of fills, the gaming chips 72 may besupplied directly from the bank 34 to the table 36 without going throughthe pit 35, and in the case of credits, the gaming chips 72 may bereturned from the table 36 to the bank 34 without going through the pit35.

The gaming chips 72 supplied to the casino 300 from the chipmanufacturing factory 200 are first stored in the warehouse 31 in thesecurity area 301. In the procedure room 32, the registration andactivation procedures are performed on the gaming chips stored in thewarehouse 31. After the registration and activation procedures, thegaming chips are brought to the floor area 302 via the cashier 33 or thebank 34. The gaming chips 72 that have undergone the registration andactivation procedures may be stored in the warehouse 31 and providedfrom the warehouse 31 to the cashier 33 or the bank 34, or they may bestored in the warehouse 31 and provided from the warehouse 31 to thecashier 33 or the bank 34 after only the registration procedures havebeen completed. The activation procedure may be performed when theproduct is provided from the warehouse to the cashier 33 or the bank 34.

A player 74 may purchase gaming chips 72 at cashier 33 or table 36. Theplayer 74 bets the gaming chips 72 in the game played at the table 36,and if he/she wins the game, the dealer 75 redeems the gaming chips 72,and if he/she loses the game, the dealer 75 collects the gaming chips 72he/she bet. In this way, the gaming chips 72 owned by the dealer 75 atthe table 36 increase or decrease depending on the game results. Whenthere is a shortage of gaming chips 72 at the table 36, gaming chips 72are replenished from pit 35 to the table 36, and when there is an excessof gaming chips 72 at the table 36, gaming chips 72 are moved from thetable 36 to the pit 35. Players 74 can also enter and exit the floorarea 302 through the gate 38. In some casinos, players are allowed toenter and exit the floor area 302 with gaming chips 72 in theirpossession.

The warehouse 31, the procedure room 32, the cashier 33, the bank 34,each pit 35, each table 36, and the gate 38 in the casino 300 are alllocations that handle gaming chips 72 as casino item, and arehereinafter collectively referred to as casino item handling locations.The gaming chips 72 reside in one of the casino item handling locationsin the casino 300, or are otherwise owned by the player.

The above mentioned registration device 325, a central verificationdevice 323, a cashier verification device 333, a bank verificationdevice 343, a pit verification device 353, and a table verificationdevice 363 all comprise a processor that performs information processingand a memory that stores a program to be executed by the processor. Theprogram may be provided to the computing system via a non-transitorystorage medium, or may be provided to the computing system via anetwork.

FIG. 4 shows an overall structure of the casino system according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention. The casino system 30 includesa procedure room system 320 provided in the procedure room 32, a cashiersystem 330 provided in the cashier 33, a bank system 340 provided in thebank 34, a pit system 350 provided in each pit 35, and a table system 3provided in each table 36.

These procedure room systems 320, the cashier systems 330, the banksystem 340, the pit systems 350, and the table systems 360 arecommunicatively connected to each other. The communication between thesesystems may be wired or wireless. Thus, the casino system 30 is anetwork system with a plurality of subsystems (i.e., the procedure roomsystem 320, the cashier system 330, the bank system 340, the pit system350, and the table system 360) installed at each casino item handlinglocation.

The procedure room system 320 includes an antenna 321 and an activationreader/writer 322 for reading the RFID tag 721 embedded in the gamingchip 72 brought into the procedure room 32, and an activationreader/writer 322 for verifying whether the gaming chip 72 of eachcasino item handling location is registered or not, whether it isactivated or not, an input device 324 for inputting data, a registrationdevice 325 for registering and activating the gaming chip 72, and adatabase 326 as a storage device for storing the information of eachgaming chip 72 including identification information and status.

The cashier system 330 includes an antenna 331 and cashier reader/writer332 are used to read the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72, which istaken out from the cashier 33 to the floor area 302 (purchased by theplayer), and a cashier verification device 333 used to verify the gamingchip 72 using the information read by the cashier reader/writer 332.

The bank system 340 is equipped with an antenna 341 and a bankreader/writer 342 for reading the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72brought into the bank 34 or taken out from the bank 34 to the floor area302, and a bank verification device 343 for verifying the gaming chip 72using information read by the bank reader/writer 342.

The pit system 350 has an antenna 351 and a pit reader/writer 35 forreading the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 brought into the pit 350from the table 36 or the bank 34 or taken out of the pit 350 to thetable 36 or the bank 34, and a pit verification device 353 for verifyingthe gaming chip 72 using the information read by the pit reader/writer352.

The table 36 is provided with a chip tray or storage tray or chip float(hereinafter simply referred to as “chip tray”) for storing the dealer'sgaming chips 72. The table 36 is also provided with a betting area forbetting the gaming chips 72 for each player position. The table system360 includes an antenna 361 a and a chip tray reader/writer 362 aprovided on the chip tray to read the RFID tags 721 of the gaming chips72 contained in the chip tray, and an antenna 361 a and a chip trayreader/writer 362 a provided on the chip tray to read the RFID tags 721of the gaming chips 72 placed (bet on) in the betting area of the table36.

The table system 360 further comprises a table verification device 363for verifying the gaming chips 72 using the information read by the chiptray reader/writer 362 a and the betting chip reader/writer 362 b, and achip tray reader/writer 362 a and a betting chip reader/writer 362 b, atable storage device 364 that stores the information read by the chiptray reader/writer 362 a and the betting chip reader/writer 362 b. Thegate 38 may also be provided with a gate system similar to each of theabove subsystems.

(REGISTRATION AND ACTIVATION) The registration and activation proceduresperformed in the procedure room 32 are described below. The gaming chips72 manufactured in the chip manufacturing factory 200 are brought to thesecurity area 301 of the casino 300 and stored in the warehouse 31. Inthe procedure room 32, the gaming chip 72 to be registered, which isstored in the warehouse 31, is taken out and the procedure forregistration and activation of the gaming chip 72 is performed using theprocedure room system 320.

A data file 73 containing identification information is provided to theprocedure room system 320 by the chip manufacturing factory 200(manufacturer of the gaming chip 72), and the procedure room system 320receives the data file 73 at the input device 324. Since the data file73 is encrypted, the input device 324 decrypts the data file 73. Inaddition to the identification information, some or all of the otherinformation stored in the RFID tag 721 of each gaming chip 72 (see FIG.3 ) may also be recorded in this data file 73.

The antenna 321 and the activation reader/writer 322 read the tag ID andthe chip ID, which are identification information, from the RFID tag 721of the gaming chip 72 to be activated. The registration device 325determines (verifies) whether or not the identification information readby the activation reader/writer 322 from the gaming chip 72 exists inthe identification information stored in the data file 73 decoded by theinput device 324. In other words, the registration device 325 determineswhether each of the gaming chips 72 is a genuine one formallymanufactured at the chip manufacturing factory 200, or a fake one notformally manufactured at the chip manufacturing factory 200, or one inwhich the RFID tag 721 has failed (validation). In other words, theregistration device 325 determines the authenticity of the gaming chip72 based on whether or not the identification information stored in theRFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 matches the identificationinformation stored in the data file 73.

If the registration device 325 determines that the gaming chip 72 isgenuine in the authenticity determination, it registers the gaming chip72 by recording its identification information (the tag ID and the chipID) in the database 326. At this time, if other information such asmanufacturing information is recorded in the RFID tag 721 and/or thedata file 73 of the gaming chip 72, such information is also recorded inthe database 326 in association with the identification information.Furthermore, the registration device 325 records the activationinformation of each gaming chip 72 in the database 326.

Instead of or in addition to the above validation at the casino, thevalidation may be performed at the chip manufacturing factory 200. Inthis case, the registration device 325 registers the gaming chips 72that have been validated and determined to be genuine at the chipmanufacturing factory 200.

Thus, the creation of a new record of the gaming chip 72 in the database326 by the registration device 325 is referred to herein as“registration”, and the making usable of the activation status of theregistered gaming chip is referred to herein as “activation”. In thisembodiment, when registering the gaming chip 72, an authenticity checkis performed to confirm whether the gaming chip 72 is a genuine one thathas been officially manufactured at the chip manufacturing factory 200.This authenticity check is referred to as “first validation,” andchecking the information read from the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip72 at each casino item handling location against the database 326 isreferred to as “validation”. In this system, the first validation, theregistration, and the activation are performed at the same time.“Deactivation” as described below refers to making the activation statusunusable without deleting the registration (leaving the record of therelevant gaming chip 72 in the database 326). “Reactivation” refers tothe process of re-activating a gaming chip 72 that has been deactivatedonce.

FIG. 5 shows data structure of information of each gaming chip recordedin the database according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the database 326 contains, for eachgaming chip 72, the tag ID as the tag identification information 261,the attribute and value as the type information 262, the manufacturingfactory ID and the manufacturing date as the manufacturing informationand 263, the chip ID and the chip notation ID as the chip identificationinformation 264, and the activation status and update date and time asthe activation information 265, and the history of the combination oflocation and read date and time as the location history information 266.The database 326 has a look-up table (LUT) that records the informationof multiple gaming chips 72, in which each gaming chip 72 shown in FIG.5 is recorded as one record. This LUT is a list of identificationinformation.

When registering a new gaming chip 72, the registration device 325checks whether the identification information that is about to beregistered has already been registered in the database 326. Thisprevents the same identification information from being registered inthe database 326 in duplicate. The registration device 35 may update thestatus from unusable to usable during the deactivation described below,i.e., when the predetermined conditions are met after the status is madeunusable with the record remaining.

The registration device 325 stores the identification information of thegaming chip 72 that meets the predetermined conditions (e.g., the gamingchip 72 to be discarded) among the gaming chips 72 that have undergonethe cancellation process in the database 326 as an identificationinformation that cannot be registered, and when making a newregistration, the registration may be prohibited if the identificationinformation of the gaming chip 72 is stored in the database 326 as theidentification information that cannot be registered. For example, ifthe registration device 325 erases the record of a certain gaming chip72 from the database 326, the database 326 may have a black list thatstores the identification information of the gaming chip whose recordwas erased. In this case, the registration device 325, when registering,checks whether the identification information to be registered is storedin the black list, and prohibits registration for the identificationinformation in the black list. This prevents identification informationthat has once been deleted from the database from being newly registeredagain.

When the registration device 325 registers the identificationinformation read by the activation reader/writer 322 for the gaming chip72 that has been successfully verified and determined to be genuine inthe database 326, it records the status of the activation information265 as “usable” and the date and time at that time as the update dateand time. When the identification information read by the activationreader/writer 322 is registered in the database 326, the status of theactivation information 265 is recorded as “usable,” and the date andtime of the update are recorded as the update date and time, therebyregistering the gaming chip 72 as usable. This allows the user todetermine whether the status of each gaming chip 72 is “usable” or“unusable” by referring to the database 326, and also to know when theactivation was performed (when it was registered).

In this embodiment, since the activation information is also recorded inthe EPC area 212 of the RFID 721 of the gaming chip 72, the registrationdevice 325 controls the writer function of the activation reader/writer322 as a process of registering the usable gaming chip 72. The statusrecorded in the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 that has beensuccessfully verified and determined to be genuine is rewritten from“unusable” to “usable” via the antenna 321. As a result, the systems330-360 at each casino item handling location can know whether thestatus of the gaming chip 72 in question is “usable” or “unusable”simply by reading the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72.

As described above, after the gaming chip 72 is transported from thechip manufacturing factory 200 to the casino 300, it is registered inthe database 326 by the registration device 325. Even if the gaming chip72 is stolen in the process of transportation, the gaming chip 72 sostolen will not be registered in the database 326 and can be found to beunregistered in the verification described below. Therefore, such gamingchips 72 cannot be validly used in the floor area 302 of the casino 300.The casino only needs to strictly manage the gaming chip 72 after it ismade usable through the activation procedure, which allows for a higherlevel of security and lower security costs compared to the case wherethe gaming chip 72 must be strictly managed from the time it ismanufactured.

In the above, example, when activating the gaming chip 72, theactivation was performed by creating a new record of the gaming chip 72in the database 326 and setting its status to “usable”. Alternatively,the registration device 325 may register a newly received gaming chip 72by creating a record of the chip in the database 326, setting its statusas “unusable” at this time, and then rewriting the status to “usable”through a subsequent activation procedure. In this case, the creation ofthe record is called registration, and the rewriting of the status to“usable” is called activation.

(VERIFICATION AT THE CASINO ITEM HANDLING LOCATION) The cashier system330, the bank system 340, the pit system 350, and the table system 360at the cashier 33, the bank 34, the pit 35, and the table 36, which arecasino item handling locations, respectively, perform verification ofthe identification information and check of the status of the gamingchip 72 handled there. The following is a description of each casinoitem handling location.

At the cashier 33, the antenna 331 and the cashier reader/writer 332 ofthe cashier system 330 read the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 inthe cashier 33 to obtain the tag ID, chip ID, and the status. Thecashier verification device 333 outputs an error signal indicating thatthe status read from the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 is“unusable”. When the error signal is output, the cashier 33 shall stophandling the gaming chip 72.

The cashier verification device 333 further transmits the identificationinformation (the tag ID and the chip ID) acquired by the cashierreader/writer 332 to the procedure room system 320. The centralverification device 323 in the procedure room 32 verifies that theidentification information received from the cashier system 330 isstored in the database 326 and that the status associated with theidentification information is usable.

If the corresponding identification is stored in the database 326 (i.e.,is genuine) and its status is usable, the central verification device323 sends a response signal to the cashier system 330 to that effect forthe gaming chip 72 as genuine and usable. On the other hand, if theinquired gaming chip 72 is not genuine, the central verification device323 sends an error signal as a response signal to the cashier system 330to the effect that it is not genuine, and if the inquired gaming chip 72is genuine but its status is unusable, the central verification device323 sends an error signal as a response signal to the cashier system 330to the effect that it is genuine but unusable. Upon receiving theresponse signal, the cashier verification device 333 may issue an alert,which may be perceived only by the staff or by many persons, includingthe player. Note that the response signal may also be returned to thecashier system 330 if it is genuine and usable, in which case thecashier verification device 333 may report that there is no problem orthat it has “passed”.

If there is a gaming chip 72 whose status read from the RFID tag 721 ofthe gaming chip 72 is usable by the cashier verification device 333 butwhose status is recorded as unusable in the database 326, the cashierverification device 333 determines that the gaming chip 72 iscounterfeit, and controls the writer function of the cashierreader/writer 332 to rewrite the status of the RFID tag 721 of thegaming chip 72 to “unusable” via the antenna 331. Alternatively, thecashier verification device 33 may rewrite the status to “unknown” or“suspect”.

If the status is recorded as “usable” in the database 326, but thestatus read from the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 by the cashierverification device 333 is “unusable,” then it is determined that suchgaming chip 72 may, for some reason, have been rewritten the statusstored in the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72, and the status storedin the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 can be rewritten to “usable”.Alternatively, the status of such a gaming chip 72 may be rewritten as“unusable” or “unknown” or “suspicious” and its handling may bediscontinued.

The gaming chip 72 that is brought into the cashier 33 directly from theprocedure room 32 or through the warehouse 31 has already beenregistered and activated in the procedure room 32 and has not left thesecurity area 301, so it is unlikely that it is a counterfeit or illegalgaming chip. However, there is a possibility that a counterfeit orfraudulent gaming chip 72 may be present among the gaming chips 72 thatare brought into the cashier 33 by the user from the floor area 302 tobe redeemed. Therefore, the cashier verification device 333 may, amongother things, verify the identification and the status of the gamingchips 72 to be redeemed and indicate the results to the player 74 andthe staff of the cashier 33. Alternatively, when a player 74 purchases agaming chip 72, the information on the value stored in the RFID tag 721of the gaming chip 72 is read and presented to the player 74, theidentification information and the status are also checked at the sametime, and the results are presented to the player 74 together with theinformation on the value.

The bank system 340 operates basically in the same way as the cashiersystem 330. The gaming chips 72 to be filled will be transported fromthe bank 34 to the pit 35 in the floor area 302, but it is unlikely thatcounterfeit or fraudulent gaming chips 72 will be mixed in, since suchgaming chips 72 have been activated in the processing room 32 and havenot left the security area 301. However, the gaming chips 72 that arebrought into the bank 34 from the floor area 302 during the creditprocess include those that have been collected by the dealer after beinghanded over to the player 74. Therefore, there is a possibility thatcounterfeit or fraudulent gaming chips 72 may be mixed in. Therefore,the bank system 340 may check the identification and the status of thegaming chips 72 brought in from the floor area 302, among others.

The pit system 350 basically operates in the same way as the cashiersystem 330. In the pit 35, gaming chips 72 that are filled from the bank34 and the gaming chips 72 that are in excess at the table 36 arebrought in. The pit system 350 checks the gaming chips 72 that arebrought into the pit 35 in this way. Excess gaming chips 72 in the pit35 are moved to bank 34 (credit), or gaming chips 72 are replenishedfrom the pit 35 to the table 36 if there is a shortage of gaming chips72 at the table 36. The pit system 350 will also check the gaming chips72 leaving the pit 35 in this way.

The operation of the table system 360 is as follows. At the table 36,the dealer 75 redeems gaming chips 72 from the chip tray to the player74 who won the game. An antenna 361 a is provided on the chip tray, andthe chip tray reader/writer 362 a reads the identification informationand the status from the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 contained inthe chip tray. The identification information read by the chip trayreader/writer 362 a is checked by the table verification device 363 andstored in the table storage device 364. When a plurality of gaming chips72 are housed in the chip tray, a plurality of identificationinformation corresponding to the plurality of gaming chips 72 will bestored in the table storage device 364.

The table verification device 363 first compares the most recentidentification information stored in the table storage device 364 in thepast with the current identification information read by the chip trayreader/writer 362 a to determine whether the two match.

If there is any identification information among the identificationinformation read by the chip tray reader/writer 362 a that is not amongthe latest identification information stored in the table storage device364, the table verification device 363 may, in the same manner as thecashier verification device 333 described above, for such gaming chip72, determine whether such identification information is stored in thedatabase 326 and whether the status corresponding to such identificationinformation is “usable” in the database.

Specifically, the table verification device 363 normally verifies thechip ID read from the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 with theprevious chip ID registered in the table storage device 364. When a newchip ID that was not read in the previous reading is read, theidentification information including the tag ID read from the RFID tag721 of the gaming chip 72 is checked against the identificationinformation including the tag ID recorded in the database 326 and thestatus is checked.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an operation of a table system according tothe first embodiment of the present invention. The antenna 361 a and thechip tray reader/writer 362 a read the chip IDs from the RFID tags 721of all gaming chips 72 in the chip tray (step S61). The tableverification device 363 checks a group of these read chip IDs againstthe group of chip IDs stored in the table storage device 364 as thelatest chip IDs in the past, and determines whether there are new chipIDs among the read chip IDs that are not stored in the table storagedevice 364. In this way, the system is able to determine whether thereis a new chip ID among the read chip IDs that is not stored in the tablestorage device 364.

If a new chip ID is read (YES in step S62), the antenna 361 a and thechip tray reader/writer 362 a specify the new chip ID, read the tag IDfrom the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 having the new chip ID, andread the combination of the chip ID and the tag ID. The combination ofthe chip ID and the tag ID is sent to the procedure room system 320 tobe checked against the information stored in the database 326 and toconfirm whether the status is “usable” (step S63). Then, the group ofthe all read chip IDs is stored in the table storage device 364 as agroup of new latest read chip IDs in the past (Step S64).

If no new chip IDs are read, that is, if no new gaming chips 72 havebeen added to the chip tray since the previous reading, the tableverification device 363 does not compare the group of chip IDs read withthe group of the latest chip IDs in the past stored in the table storagedevice 364. In the comparison, it is determined whether or not there isa chip ID that was read in the previous reading but is no longer read inthe current reading (step S65).

If there is a chip ID that is no longer read, i.e., if the gaming chip72 is taken out of the chip tray (YES in step S65), a group of the allread chip IDs is stored in the table storage device 364 as a group ofthe latest chip IDs in the past (step S64). On the other hand, if thereare no chip IDs that are no longer read (NO in step S65), that is, ifthere has been no increase or decrease or change of gaming chips 72 inthe chip tray, the table storage 364 is not updated.

Thus, in the chip tray of the table 36, the chip ID stored in the EPCarea 212 is usually read at predetermined time intervals and thevariation thereof is monitored, and when there is a variation in thechip ID, especially when a new chip ID is read, the gaming chip 72 withthe new chip ID is checked against the database 326 and the status ofthe database 326 is checked. Therefore, the processing load can bereduced and the processing time required for one cycle can be shortened(the processing speed can be improved).

The table verification device 363 may perform the verification with thedatabase 326 and the check of the status of the database 326 at apredetermined timing and/or under a predetermined condition, regardlessof whether or not there is a newly read chip ID.

When a player 74 places a bet on a game, the player 74 places the gamingchip 72 to be bet on at a predetermined betting area on the game table.The antenna 361 b is placed under the betting area on the table surfaceof the game table, and the betting chip reader/writer 362 b reads theidentification information from the RFID tag 721 of the betting gamingchip 72. The identification information read by the betting chipreader/writer 362 b is checked by the table verification device 363 andstored in the table storage device 364. When a plurality of gaming chips72 are bet in the betting area, a plurality of identificationinformation corresponding to the plurality of gaming chips 72 is storedin the table storage device 364.

The antenna 361 b and the betting chip reader/writer 362 b read the RFIDtags 721 of the gaming chips 72 that have been paid out from the chiptray by the dealer 75 as well as the gaming chips 72 that have been betin the betting area by the player 74, and the table storage device 364also stores the identification information of gaming chips 72 that areso paid out.

The table verification device 363 checks the status and verifies theidentification information read from the RFID tag 721 by the bettingchip reader/writer 362 b in the same manner as for the gaming chips 72contained in the chip tray. Specifically, the table verification device363 does not always check the identification information read by thebetting chip reader/writer 362 b against the database 326, but insteadwhen new identification information that is not in the latestidentification information stored in the table storage device 364 ashaving been read from the betting chip reader/writer 362 b is read bythe antenna 361 b and the betting chip reader/writer 362 b, theidentification information is checked against the identificationinformation stored in the database 326 and the status stored in thedatabase 326 is checked via the central verification device 323.

In particular, when the table verification device 363 receives aresponse signal from the central verification device 323 as a result ofthe verification to the effect that it is not genuine or unusable, analert is issued, and the dealer takes action on the spot to prevent theuse of gaming chips 72 that are unauthorized or unusable, and such agaming chip 72 can be collected from the player. For example, if agaming chip 72 bet by a player is read by the betting chip reader/writer36 and its status is found to be unusable, the dealer can collect thegaming chip 72 before the game starts and distinguish it from otherusable gaming chips 72 for later disposal. Or, if some of the chipscollected in the chip float are unusable in status, they can be storedseparately for later processing according to the alert.

In the verification of the first embodiment described above, at eachcasino item handling location, the information read from the RFID tag 72of the gaming chip 72 is transmitted to the central verification device323 of the procedure room system 32, and the central verification device323 checks the data in the database 326 of the procedure room system320. The information read from the RFID tag 72 of the gaming chip 72 wassent to the central verification device 323 of the procedure room system32. In other words, the information on the gaming chip 72 was centrallymanaged in the database 326 of the procedure room system 320.Alternatively, the subsystems 330, 340, 350, and 360 of each casino itemhandling location may be able to perform the verification withoutcommunicating with the procedure room system 320.

In this case, each subsystem 330, 340, 350, 360 is all equipped with adatabase. In this case, each subsystem 330, 340, 350, and 360 may beconfigured as an integrated device, including the database. Furthermore,the device may be a portable device, not fixed to each casino itemhandling location, and may even be battery powered. Thus, if thesubsystems 330, 340, 350, and 360 of each casino item handling locationare used in a stand-alone manner, they may not be able to share suchinformation with other casino item handling locations in the event offraudulent or suspected chips, but at the very least, the informationcan be cross-checked with the database provided at each casino itemhandling location. In other words, it is at least possible to determinewhether or not the identification information of the gaming chip 72 isregistered in the database.

In this case, each table 36 may use the chip tray reader/writer 362 a orbetting chip reader/writer 362 b described above, to perform the aboveverification, but apart from these readers/writers, a dedicated readermay be prepared to perform the verification with the local database.

In this case, each subsystem may be equipped with a configuration todetermine the number of gaming chips 72 whose RFID tags 721 are read bythe antenna. Such a configuration may be, for example, a configurationin which the holding means for holding the gaming chips 72 from whichthe RFID tags 721 are read can accommodate a predetermined number ofgaming chips 72 (e.g., 20 or 100). The holding means may be, forexample, a chip-holding mechanism having a half-tube shape that canaccommodate a predetermined number of gaming chips 72 in a stack, or agaming chip table having a predetermined number of chip-placement areaswhere a predetermined number of gaming chips 72 are placed one by one.In this case, the verification devices 333, 343, 353, and 363 inspectthe gaming chips 72 by comparing the number of readings of the RFID tags721 with the maximum number of chips, assuming that the maximum numberof gaming chips 72 that can be held in those holding means is actuallyheld.

The configuration for determining the number of gaming chips 72 may beoptical detection means that optically detects the gaming chips 72 fromwhich the RFID tags 721 are read. The optical detection means may be anoptical sensor that detects the gaming chips 72 on which the RFID tag721 is read one by one, or it may comprise a camera that captures thegaming chips 72 on which the RFID tag 721 is read and generates animage, and an image analyzer that determines the number of gaming chips72 by analyzing the image. The verification devices 333, 343, 353, and363 of each subsystem may then inspect the gaming chips 72 by comparingthe number of RFID tags 721 read and the actual number of gaming chips72 optically determined.

Each of the subsystems 330, 340, 350, 360 may be equipped with a displaydevice. In this case, the display device may show all the values of eachgaming chip 72 stored in the RFID tag 721 read by each reader/writer, ormay show the total value of the plurality of gaming chips 72 read byeach reader/writer. Alternatively, the display device may show theresult of the comparison between the number of RFID tags 721 and theactual number of chips as the result of the verification.

In this way, it may be possible to perform inspections by comparing theinformation read from the RFID tags 721 with the database, and bycomparing the number of RFID tags 721 read with the number of tagsoptically determined. In particular, by having a database in each of thesubsystems 330, 340, 350, and 360, these two types of inspections can beperformed simultaneously at each casino item handling location withoutthe need for communication with the network.

In this case, the database for each table may be updated periodically(e.g., once a week) or at the time when new gaming chips 72 areintroduced to the casino. When making this update, the database 326 ofthe procedure room system 360 may be updated, and at the same time, thedatabase of each subsystem 330, 340, 350, 360 may be updated remotely bycommunicating from the procedure room system 320 to each subsystem 330,340, 350, 360. Alternatively, when updating, the database of eachsubsystem 330, 340, 350, 360 may be updated by storing the updated datain a portable storage medium and reading the updated data from thisstorage medium in each subsystem 330, 340, 350, 360.

It may also be possible to switch between the method of centralizedmanagement by the database 326 of the procedure room system 320 andverification by communication as described above (network-based method)and the method of stand-alone verification in each subsystem 330, 340,350, 360 (stand-alone method). For example, verification may beperformed using the network-based method under normal circumstances, andswitched to the stand-alone method in the event of a power failure orother trouble. Also, whenever there is an update to the information inthe database, the database of each subsystem 330, 340, 350, and 360 isupdated in real time using the network, but the verification may only bedone using the database of each subsystem 330, 340, 350, and 360.

(TRACKING OF GAMING CHIPS) As described above, the information for eachgaming chip 72 in the database 326 includes location history information266. Each time the central verification device 323 receives an inquiryrequest for identification information from each casino item handlinglocation, it updates the location history information 266 correspondingto the identification information. Specifically, when the centralverification device 323 receives an inquiry request for identificationinformation from each casino item handling location, the centralverification device 323 records information specifying the casino itemhandling location as the location information and the date and time ofthe inquiry as the reading date and time in the location historyinformation 266 corresponding to the identification information. In thedatabase, a predetermined number of information can be recorded as thelocation history information, and after the predetermined number oflocation history information is recorded, the old information isoverwritten.

The location history information is the history of the locationinformation. The location information is information that identifieseach casino item handling location or each player. For example, if acashier has more than one window, the window ID that identifies thewindow can be used as the location information, and if there are morethan one pit and table, the pit ID and table ID that identify which pitand table are used can be used as the location information.

In addition, when the gaming chip 2 is given to a player 74, the playerID of the player 74 shall be recorded as the location information. Forexample, if antennas 361 b are provided for each player position at thetable 36, the player ID of each player position can be identified by themember card held by the player 74 or by facial recognition of the imageof the player playing at the table 36.

Then, by detecting to which player position the gaming chip 72 to bepaid out to a player is paid out, it can be determined to which playerID the gaming chip 72 has been paid out. In addition, when a player 74purchases a gaming chip 72 at the cashier 33, the player ID of theplayer 74 is identified and the player ID is recorded as locationinformation.

In this way, by recording the history of the location information andthe information of the date and time of its reading in the database 326as the location history information, it is possible to determine how thegaming chip 72 in question has been moved by referring to the database326.

(DEACTIVATION) As described above, the registration device 325 registersand activates the gaming chip 72 in the database 326 by storing in thedatabase 326 the respective information including the identificationinformation of the new gaming chip 72 obtained from the factory. On theother hand, for malfunctioning or outdated gaming chips 72, theregistration device 325 sets the status of the gaming chip 72 which hasbeen set to usable once to unusable (cancellation process).

At each casino item handling station, the gaming chips 72 for whichinformation cannot be read from the RFID tag 721 (i.e., gaming chips 72for which the RFID tag 721 has been damaged or gaming chips 72 for whichthe RFID tag 721 is not embedded) shall be excluded from the gamingchips 72 that can be used on the spot. The gaming chips 72 that fail toverify the identification information read from the RFID tag 721 arealso excluded from the gaming chips 72 that can be used in place.Furthermore, the gaming chips 72 whose status was unusable are alsoexcluded. In addition, if fraud or suspected fraud is committed at acasino item handling location (especially at the table 36), the dealerwill exclude the gaming chips 72 involved in the fraud or suspectedfraud from the gaming chips 72 usable for use at the location. Theseproblematic gaming chips 72 are brought from the respective casino itemhandling location to the procedure room 32, where the registration asusable gaming chip will be canceled.

A gaming chip 72 that has been excluded from the usable gaming chips 72at the casino item handling location and brought into the procedure room32 has its identification information read out from the gaming chip 72by the activation reader/writer 322. The registration device 325performs a cancellation process for the identification information readby the activation reader/writer 322.

Furthermore, for a gaming chip 72 that has been activated for apredetermined period of time (e.g., one year) from the date and time ofthe first activation without any problems, the cancellation process isperformed in order to dispose of the gaming chip 72. In other words, asa credit process, in the bank 34, the bank reader 342 reads theidentification information from the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72brought into the bank 34 from the pit 35, and requests a verification tothe central verification device 323. At this time, the centralverification device 323 checks the date and time of activation of thegaming chip 72 in question by referring to the database 326, and if morethan a predetermined time has elapsed since the date and time, theregistration device 325 performs the cancellation process for the gamingchip 72 in question. Similarly, in the cashier 33, the cashierreader/writer 332 reads the identification information from the RFID tag721 of the gaming chip 72 brought into the cashier by the player toredeem the gaming chip 72, and requests a verification to the centralverification unit 323. If more than a predetermined amount of time haselapsed since the date and time, the registration device 325 performsthe cancellation process for the gaming chip 72.

The gaming chips 72 that have been brought into the bank 34 or cashier33 and for which more than a predetermined amount of time has elapsedsince the date and time of activation may be destroyed (destroys). Forthe destroyed gaming chip 72, the record may be deleted from thedatabase 326, or the activation status may be set to “destroyed”, a typeof unusable, as a cancellation process while the record is retained.Subsequent registration of the identification information of thediscarded gaming chip 72 may be prohibited, or subsequent updating ofthe activation status to “usable” may be prohibited for a gaming chip 72whose activation status is “destroyed”.

In the cancellation process, the registration device 325 shall updatethe status of such gaming chip 72 recorded in the database 326 to“invalidated” and record the date and time of the update. If the RFIDtag 721 of the gaming chip 72 is malfunctioning, the identificationinformation to be invalidated cannot be read from such gaming chip 72.Therefore, the registration device 325 cancel the registration of suchgaming chip 72 as a usable gaming chip in the following manner.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of a gaming chip as a casino item (with a decalremoved) according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Thegaming chip 72 carries information for identifying the gaming chip 72 ina manner other than the RFID tag 721. The gaming chip 72 has a circularrecess in the center, and a decal 723 is affixed to the bottom surface722 of the recess. The number representing the value of the gaming chip72 is written on this decal 723. When the decal is removed, the bottomof the recess (decal attachment surface) 722 has the chip notation ID asthe unique identification information for the gaming chip 72. The chipnotation ID may be written on the bottom surface 722 of the recess ofthe gaming chip 72 by laser engraving, or it may be printed on the decalattachment surface 722 with some type of ink. The chip notation ID mayalso be printed on the surface of the decal 723. In this case, the chipnotation ID may be printed using visible ink or invisible ink that isinvisible under normal conditions, such as UV emitting ink that emitslight when irradiated with UV light or infrared absorbing ink thatabsorbs infrared light.

For the gaming chip 72 that cannot read the identification informationfrom the RFID tag 721, the registration device 325 identifies theidentification information that should be deregistered as a usablegaming chip 72 using the chip notation ID to identify the gaming chip72, and performs the cancellation process. For the gaming chip 72 whoseidentification information cannot be read due to the failure of the RFIDtag 721, the operator peels off the decal 723, sees the chip notation IDon the decal affixing surface 722, and inputs the chip notation ID tothe registration device 325 via the input device 324. The registrationdevice 325 refers to the database 326 to identify the identificationinformation corresponding to the input chip notation ID (see FIG. 5 ).As a result, even for a gaming chip 72 whose RFID tag 721 hasmalfunctioned, the gaming chip 72 can be identified in the database 326and the cancellation process can be performed.

As described above, the gaming chips 72 passed to the players 74 arepassed back and forth among multiple players 74 and tables 36 by bets bythe players 74 and payouts by the dealers 75, and are finally returnedto the bank 34 via the pit 35. At this time, the gaming chips 72 thathave been excluded at each casino item handling location as describedabove, are released by the registration device 325.

In addition, gaming chips 72 that have not been excluded as problematicand are collected in the bank 34 by the credit process are subjected toverification of identification information and status in the bankingsystem 34 to determine whether a predetermined period of time has notelapsed since the initial activation. If the bank system detects gamingchips that have failed to verify the identification information, orwhose status is not “usable,” or if a predetermined period of time haselapsed since the first activation, the bank system will deactivatethose chips.

In addition, as described above, the database 326 and the gaming chip 72store the type information, manufacturing information, and casino ID inassociation with the identification information. When these informationstored in the database 326 and these information stored in the gamingchip 72 do not match, the cancellation process may be performed for suchgaming chip 72.

As for the gaming chips 72 that were not registered in the database 326as a result of checking the read identification information against thedatabase 326 at each casino item handling location, and the gaming chips72 whose status was not “usable”, it may be necessary to remove suchgaming chips 72 from the security area 301. For the gaming chip 72 thathave not been registered in the database 326 as a result of beingchecked against the database 326 or for the gaming chip 72 whose statusis not “usable,” the registration device 325 may immediately take stepsto cancel the registration of such a gaming chip 72 as a usable gamingchips 72, without waiting for such a gaming chip 72 to return to thesecurity area 301. The reader/writer at each casino item handlinglocation may also rewrite the status of such gaming chip 72 to“unusable” if the status of such gaming chip 72 is “usable”.

When the gaming chip 72 is read at each casino item handling location,the central verification device 323 may check the history of thelocation of the gaming chip 72 based on the information in the database326. If the location history is inappropriate in light of thepredetermined criteria, the central verification device 323 may set thestatus of the gaming chip 72 to unusable as a suspect gaming chip 72.For example, if the location history shows that the gaming chip 72 hasbeen moved directly from one player 74 to another player 74 withoutpassing through the chip tray 36 a, the location history of the gamingchip 72 is determined to be suspicious (a possibility of moneylaundering). Alternatively, a list of suspicious gaming chips 72 (blacklist) may be created in advance in the database 326, and if the gamingchip 72 involved in the verification is listed in the black list, theregistration device 325 may actually perform the cancellation processfor the gaming chip 72 concerned.

As described above, in the chip tray of table 36, the chip trayreader/writer 362 a periodically reads the RFID tag 721 of the gamingchip 72. In addition, at the table 36, the betting chip reader/writer362 b reads the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 paid from the chiptray. The gaming chips 72 in the chip tray are also moved to the pit 35at the appropriate time. Therefore, gaming chips 72 that are no longerread in the chip tray should then be read by betting chip reader/writer362 b or pit reader/writer 352.

Therefore, the table verification device 363 stores the identificationinformation that is no longer read by the chip tray reader/writer 362 ain the table storage device 364, and then determines whether or not theidentification information is read by the betting chip reader/writer 362b within a predetermined time (e.g., within 10 seconds). If theidentification information is not read by the bet chip reader/writer 362b within the predetermined time, the table verification device 363 sendsthe time when the identification information is no longer read alongwith the identification information to the central verification deviceand inquires whether the identification information was read in the pit35.

When the registration device 325 receives an inquiry, it checks whetherthe pit reader/writer 352 has reported the identification informationconcerned to the central verification device 323 within a predeterminedtime (e.g., within three minutes). If the identification information hasnot been reported within the predetermined time, the registration device325 assumes that the gaming chip 72 with the identification informationhas been lost from the chip tray (stolen by the player or dealer) andperforms the cancellation process for the gaming chip 72.

If the gaming chip 72 is found to have been stolen by a method otherthan those described above, the registration device 325 also identifiesthe identification information of the stolen gaming chip 72 and thenperforms the cancellation process. For example, if a gaming chip 72 isstolen from a chip holding means such as a chip tray on the table 36,the registration device 325 may perform the cancellation process for allgaming chips 72 whose identification information was read as being inthe chip holding device immediately before the theft. The gaming chipsin the chip holding means may be read continuously.

As mentioned above, the types of the gaming chips 72 are defined bytheir attributes (whether they are non-redeemable NN chips or redeemablecash chips) and value ($10, $100, $1,000, etc.). For example, if thecasino wants to revamp the design of a particular type of gaming chip,the casino will collect the old type of gaming chip 72 in circulationand perform the cancellation process. In this case, the casino will seta deadline and notify players of the deadline, and when the deadlinearrives, the registration device 325 will make the status of all oldgaming chips 72 unusable. Specifically, since the database 326 storesthe type information 262 of each gaming chip 72 as shown in FIG. 5 , theregistration device 325 will refer to the database 326 and perform thecancellation process for the applicable type of gaming chip 72.

In addition, as described below, the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72is read by a reader/writer at each casino item handling location in thecasino, and the identification information read from the RFID tag 721 issent from each casino item handling location to the central verificationdevice 323. The identification information read from the RFID tag 721 issent from each casino item handling location to the central verificationdevice 323. In addition, the table 36 identifies the player who owns thegaming chip 72 by recognizing each player. The database 326 records thehistory of information on the location of the gaming chips 72 (anycasino item handling location in the casino or any player). Theregistration device 325 checks the history of the location informationin the database 326, and when the same identification information isread by the reader/writers of multiple casino item handling locations,and when the combination of the readings satisfies the conditions fordetermining fraud, the registration device 325 carries out thecancellation process for the gaming chip 72 having the identificationinformation.

In this casino system 30, each gaming chip 72 is tracked as describedabove. The function of tracking the whereabouts of each gaming chip 72allows the system to determine where each gaming chip 72 is located inthe casino and, if it is owned by a player, which player owns it.

The location history information for each gaming chip 72 can be used asa condition for the above fraud determination. Specifically, when thelocation of a certain gaming chip 72 has been updated, the registrationdevice 325 may determine that it is fraudulent when the relationshipbetween the current location and the latest location in the past is acombination of the following, for example: (1) A gaming chip 72recognized as being owned by one player is next recognized as beingowned by another player; (2) A gaming chip 72 recognized as present inthe chip tray of one table 36 is next recognized as present in anothertable 36; (3) A gaming chip 72 recognized as being in the bank 34 isnext recognized as being in the possession of a player; (4) A gamingchip 72 recognized as present in the cashier 33 is next recognized aspresent in the chip tray of the table 36; (5) A gaming chip 72recognized as being in the bank 34 are next recognized as being in thecashier 33; (6) A gaming chip 72 recognized as present in the cashier 33is next recognized as present in the bank 34; or (7) A gaming chip 72recognized as present in the cashier 33, the bank 34, or the table 36 isnext recognized as present in the gate 38.

If any of the above cases (1) to (7) applies, there is a suspicion thatthere has been an illegal transfer of the gaming chip 72, such as thetransfer of the gaming chip 72 between players (money laundering issuspected), a player has illegally stolen the gaming chip 72 owned bythe casino, or there are multiple gaming chips with the sameidentification information. Therefore, the registration device 325 shallperform the cancellation process for such a gaming chip 72.

In addition, the registration device 325 performs the cancellationprocess for gaming chips 72 that have identification information thathas not been read by a reader/writer at any casino item handlinglocation in the casino for a predetermined period of time or longer. Inthis case as well, the registration device 325 refers to the locationhistory information in the database 326 to determine that the chip hasnot been read by the reader/writer of any casino item handling locationfor a predetermined period of time or longer.

In addition, although not illustrated in FIG. 4 , if the removal of thegaming chips 72 from the floor area 302 to the outside is prohibited,and therefore the introduction of the gaming chips 72 from the outsideto the floor area 302 is also prohibited, a gate system similar to thecashier system 330, the bank system 340, and the pit system 350described above may be provided at gate 38. In this case, at the gate38, players entering or exiting the floor area 302 are exposed toelectromagnetic waves to detect the RFID tags 72 along with theirpersonal belongings. This electromagnetic wave is emitted from otherantennas installed at the entry and exit gates, and an RFID reader isconnected to the antenna.

At the gate 38, the gaming chip 72 that are attempted to be taken out ortaken in will be confiscated by the gate security staff as unusable.After this, the confiscated gaming chip 72 is brought from the gate 38to the procedure room system 320, where it is deactivated by theregistration device 325.

For the gaming chips 72 that are to be credited from the floor area 302to the bank 34, the cancellation process is performed by theregistration device 325 on the gaming chips 72 that are to betransferred before the transfer for credit begins. For example, for agaming chip 72 to be moved (credited) from the pit 35 to the bank 34,the pit reader/writer 352 reads the identification information from theRFID tag 721 and sends it to the registration device 325. For the gamingchip 72 identified by the transmitted identification information, theregistration device 325 performs the cancellation process and sets thestatus to “unusable”.

In the above example, in the cancellation process, the registrationdevice 325 rewrites the status of the gaming chip 72 to “unusable” whileleaving the record of the gaming chip 72 in the database 326, butalternatively, the registration device 325 may delete from the databasethe information on the gaming chip 72 which the registration as a usablegaming chip 72 to be canceled. It is also possible for the registrationdevice 325 to selectively perform both the deletion of the record fromthe database 326 and the rewriting of the status. In this case, thedeletion of records from the database 326 is referred to as cancellationof registration or destruction, and the rewriting of the status tounusable is referred to as deactivation.

In the case of deleting a record of a gaming chip 72 from the database326 as a cancellation process, instead of making the status unusable,the database 326 need not have information on the status for each gamingchip 72. In this case, the fact that there is a record (registered) ofthe gaming chip 72 in the database 326 means that the gaming chip 72 inquestion is usable, and the fact that there is no record (notregistered) of the gaming chip 72 in the database 326 means that thegaming chip 72 in question is unusable.

If the identification information read from the RFID tag 721 of thegaming chip 72 is not stored in the database 326, the registrationdevice 325 may add the identification information to the black list toprevent the identification information from being registered thereafter.In this case, the chip notation ID of the gaming chip 72 in question maybe further checked and the checked chip notation ID may be recorded inthe black list. This is because that in this situation, theidentification information is likely to be forged, while the chipnotation ID is likely to be legitimate.

In the procedure room 32, destructive measures may be applied to gamingchips 72 whose status has been rendered unusable and whose records havebeen deleted from the database 326. In other words, the gaming chips 72that have been deleted from the registration may be shredded to preventthem from being used fraudulently. If the registration device 35selectively deletes records from the database 326 and changes the statusto unusable, destructive measures may be taken for the gaming chips 72that have been deleted from the database 326. The device for theverification process and the shredder may be combined, and the gamingchips to be destroyed may be crushed after they are made unusable.

(REACTIVATION) For a gaming chip 72 that has been deactivated, i.e.,canceled the registration as a usable gaming chip 72 by updating theactivation status from “usable” to “unusable,” “suspicious,” “needsattention,” etc., if the predetermined conditions are met, theregistration device may perform the activation process again.Specifically, the activation status of the deactivated gaming chip 72may be set back to “usable” again.

For example, a gaming chip 72 that is suspected of having a malfunctionmay be canceled the registration as a usable gaming chip 72 (itsactivation status may be set to “unusable”), and after it is confirmedthat there is no malfunction or it is repaired, the activation statusmay be changed back to “usable”.

Alternatively, a gaming chip 72 that is moved from the 36 to the bank 34by credit may be canceled the registration as a usable gaming chip 72,and after the gaming chip 72 arrives at the bank 34 by credit, before itis used again in floor area 302, the registration device may reactivatethe gaming chip 72.

If the activation status of the gaming chip 72 involved in the fraud isset to “suspicious” or “cautionary”, and then it is confirmed that thegaming chip 72 is OK, the activation status of the gaming chip 72 may beset back to “usable”.

In this way, the gaming chip 72 can be switched between the usable andunusable statuses at will by the registration device 325 and thedatabase 326. This allows the activation status to be changed flexibly,such as making the status unusable only when moving, or in case ofdoubt, making the status unusable until it is confirmed that there is noproblem, as described above.

(VARIANT 1) FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a procedure room system ofVariant 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.The procedural room system 320′ of this variant 1 performs registrationand activation procedures for a plurality of gaming chips 72simultaneously. The plurality of gaming chips 72 are registered andactivated while they are housed in a chip case 71. The chip case 71 isprovided with a barcode 722 as case identification information toidentify the chip case 71.

In the data file 73 provided by the manufacturer of the casino item tothe casino 300, the code information represented by the barcode 722 ismapped to the information of each gaming chip 72. The procedure roomsystem 320′ is further equipped with a bar code reader 327. The barcodereader 327 reads the barcode 722 of the chip case 71 that contains thegaming chip 72 for activation.

The antenna 321 and the activation reader 322 simultaneously read theRFID tags 721 of a plurality of gaming chips 72 housed in the chip case720. The plurality of identification information read from the RFID tags721 of the plurality of gaming chips 72 by the antenna 321 and theactivation reader 322, the information in the data file 73′ decoded bythe input device 324, and co]de information of the barcode 722 of thechip case 71 read by the barcode reader 327 are input to theregistration device 325. The registration device 325 first determineswhether or not the code information of the chip case 71 given by themanufacturer of the gaming chip 72 and the code information of the chipcase 71 read by the barcode reader 327 match. In other words, theregistration device 325 first determines whether the chip case 71 itselfis the chip case that should be there.

Next, the registration device 325 identifies, from the data file 73′,the identification information of the gaming chips 72 corresponding tothe code information of the barcode 722, i.e., the plurality of gamingchips 72 for registration and activation. The registration device 325determines the authenticity of those gaming chips 72 by matching theidentification information of the identified gaming chips 72 with theidentification information read from the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip72 pertaining to the activation by the activation reader/writer 322. Ifall the gaming chips 72 for registration and activation are successfullymatched, the registration device 325 registers the gaming chips 72 bysetting the status of the gaming chips 72 as “usable” and storing theinformation of the gaming chips 72 in the database 326.

According to this configuration, the gaming chips 72 can be housed andmanaged in chip cases 720 from manufacture to activation, and it can beguaranteed that there is no excess or deficiency of the gaming chips 72that should be housed in each chip case 720.

(VARIANT 2) FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a procedure room system ofVariant 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.The procedure room system 320″ of this variation 2 also performsregistration and activation procedures for a plurality of gaming chips72 at the same time. The gaming chips 72 have type information stored inthem as well as identification information. The procedure room system320″ is equipped with a camera 3291 that captures the sides of theplurality of gaming chips 72 whose RFID tags 721 are read by the antenna321 and generates an image, and an image recognition device 3292 thatperforms image recognition on the images generated by the camera 329.

The plurality of gaming chips 72 are photographed by the camera 329 in astacked state. The camera 3291 generates image data by taking pictures.The image recognition device 3292 performs image recognition on theimage data to determine the types of the plurality of gaming chips 72 bythe patterns appearing on the sides thereof. In this embodiment, asshown in FIG. 2 , the sides of the gaming chips 72 have a center line asa pattern, and the color of the center line represents the type of thegaming chip 72 concerned. Therefore, the image recognition device 3292recognizes the center line from the image and determines the type of thegaming chip 3292 in the image by its color.

The registration device 325 determines whether the type of the pluralityof gaming chips read by the activation reader 322, i.e., the respectivenumber of chips of each type, matches the type of the plurality ofgaming chips recognized by the image recognition device 3292, i.e., therespective number of chips of each type.

According to this configuration, it is possible to inspect whether ornot the types of 72 gaming chips for registration and activation, asdetermined from their appearance, match the types stored in the RFID tag721. It is also possible to inspect whether or not the number of gamingchips 72 that can be seen from the external appearance matches thenumber of chips for which the RFID tags 721 are read.

In this variant 2, the type of the gaming chip 72 is identified from itsappearance and whether or not it matches the type stored in the RFID tag721 is determined. However, instead of using the image and the RFID tag721 to determine the type, the gaming chips 72 may be inspected byrecognizing the number of the gaming chips 72 based on the image by theimage recognition device 3292 and determining the recognized numbermatches the number of RFID tags 721 read by the activation reader 322.In this variant 2, the plurality of gaming chips 72 may not be inspectedsimultaneously, but may be inspected one by one.

In the above variant 1, for the plurality of gaming chips 72 containedin the chip case 720, the identification information and otherinformation of the gaming chips 72 contained in the chip case 720 aredetermined by reading the RFID tag 721, while the barcode reader 327 isused to read the barcode 722, and by referring to the data file 73′, theidentification information and other information of the gaming chip 72contained in the chip case 720 are determined, and the gaming chips 72are inspected by comparing the determined information. In the abovevariant 2, the type of the plurality of gaming chips 72 is determined byreading the RFID tags 721 of the plurality of gaming chips 72, and thetype of the gaming chips 72 contained in the chip case 720 is determinedby capturing the sides of the plurality of gaming chips 72 with thecamera 329 and performing image recognition, and the gaming chips 72 areinspected by comparing the determined information.

As another example, the gaming chips 72 may be inspected by the numberof gaming chips 72 contained in the chip case 720 without using thebarcode reader 327 or the camera 329. That is, the number of gamingchips 72 contained in the chip case 720 is known by using a case knownto the procedure room system 320 as the chip case 720, and the number ofRFID tags 721 read by the antenna 321 and activation reader 322 ischecked to see if the number of tags is equal to the known number. Thenumber of gaming chips 72 in the chip case 720 is known by using theknown chip case, and the gaming chips 72 may be inspected by checkingwhether the number of RFID tags 721 read by the antenna 321 andactivation reader 322 is the known number.

The inspection may also be performed based on information input by theoperator of the activation procedure from the operation device 328instead of the camera 3291 and the image recognition device 3292. Theoperator may, for example, by visually inspecting a plurality of gamingchips 72, identify their type information and input it into the inputdevice. In this case, the registration device 325 may inspect the gamingchips 72 by determining whether or not the information on the type ofthe gaming chips 72 entered by the operator in the operation device 328matches the information on the type read from the RFID tag 721 of thegaming chips 72 by the activation reader 322.

The registration device 325 may also inspect the gaming chip 72 bydetermining whether or not the information of the type entered by theoperator into the operation device 328 matches the information of thetype recorded in the data file 73 given by the manufacturer of thecasino item.

(VARIANT 3) In the first embodiment described above, the status wasstored as activation information in the database 326 and the RFID tag721 built into the gaming chip 72, but the activation information maynot be recorded in the RFID tag 721. Also, the activation information isnot recorded in the database 326, and a table containing only the usablegaming chips 72 that have been activated in the database 326 is created,and the central matching device 323 stores in the table theidentification information corresponding to the identificationinformation read from the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 to beverified. The central matching device 323 may determine whether or notthe gaming chip 72 is an activated and usable gaming chip 72 bydetermining whether or not the identification information correspondingto the identification information read from the RFID tag 721 of thegaming chip 72 to be verified exists in the table.

The status of the activation information may be recorded only in theRFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 without using the database 326. Inthis case, at the registration device 325, upon activation, the statusis recorded as “usable” on the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 (priorto that, i.e., at the factory, the status is “unusable”). By reading thestatus from the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72, each casino itemhandling location can immediately determine whether the gaming chip 72can be used or not.

(VARIANT 4) In the first embodiment described above, as a cancellationprocess, the status of the activation information is set to “unusable”or the record is deleted from the database 326. In addition to “usable”and “unusable” as the status of activation information, for example,“suspicious”, “unknown”, and the like statuses may be prepared, and theregistration device 325 may record these “suspicious”, “unknown”, andthe like statuses as the cancellation process. In this case, the casino300 may confiscate the gaming chips 72 whose status is “unusable” andtake measures according to the status if the status is “suspicious”,“unknown”, etc. For example, if the status is “suspicious”, the casinomay interview the player who owns the gaming chip 72, or check the videotaken by the camera, and if the suspicion is confirmed, allow the playerto exchange the chip 72 for a gaming chip with a status of “usable”.

Since the gaming chip 72 can be exchanged for cash and is the propertyof the player, it may not be appropriate to immediately change thestatus of the gaming chip 72 to “unusable” and make the gaming chip 72unusable for cash at the stage of suspicion. On the other hand, it isalso inappropriate to allow the free use of the gaming chip 72 (e.g.,betting on games, cashing in, etc.) by leaving the status as “usable”when there is a suspicion of fraud. Therefore, as described above, bysetting a status such as “suspicious” that is neither “usable” nor“unusable,” appropriate measures can be taken when there is a suspicionof fraud.

In this way, it is possible to update the status of various gaming chips72 suspected of fraud by making it possible to set the status ofactivation information to not only “unusable” but also “suspicious” as acancellation process. For example, all gaming chips 72 that are read inthe chip tray or betting area of the table 36 in charge of the dealer orplayer involved in the fraud, i.e., all gaming chips 72 that are read inthe chip tray or betting area of the table 36 in charge of such dealeror player, may be canceled the registration as a usable gaming chip, andall gaming chips 72 that are owned by such a player may be canceled theregistration as a usable gaming chip. In addition, if a rogue gamingchip 72 is found, the game in which the rogue gaming chip 72 was used atthe table 36 may be identified retroactively, and the cancellationprocess may be performed for all gaming chips 72 involved in that game(that were simultaneously wagered or redeemed). Furthermore, for gameswhere payout or collection at the table 36 did not occur correctly, thecancellation process may be performed for all gaming chips 72 involvedin that game. Also, all gaming chips 72 involved in a game in which aplayer wins a large amount of money may be canceled the registration asa usable gaming chip. In these cases, the registration device 325 mayupdate the status of the activation information to “suspicious” as acancellation process.

(VARIANT 5) As described above, a plurality of attributes may be definedfor the gaming chip 72, and among the attributes there is NN chip, suchas rolling chip, which are subject to restrictions in that they may bebet on but not redeemed for cash at the cashier 33, but are also subjectto cash back and other benefits when purchased. If a player bets an NNchip, and loses the game, the dealer collects the NN chip from theplayer. The NN chip will not be paid out as a payout to the winningplayer in a subsequent game at that table.

Therefore, the status of the NN chip may be set to “unusable” at thetiming when it is collected in the chip tray. Specifically, when a NNchip is newly collected in the chip tray, the table verification device363 sends its identification information to the central verificationdevice 323. When the central verification device 323 receives theidentification information of the rolling chip read by the chip trayreader/writer 362 a, the registration device 325 correspondinglyperforms a cancellation process for the identification information. As aresult, the NN chip collected in the chip tray is immediately renderedunusable and thereafter becomes unusable until the activation process isperformed again at the registration device 325.

(VARIANT 6) In the first embodiment described above, the device thatperforms the registration of the gaming chip and the device thatperforms the cancellation process of the gaming chip are the samedevice, but they may be separate devices. Also, although the device thatperforms the registration and the device that performs the cancellationprocess are located in the procedure room 32 in the security area 301,one or both of these devices may be located in the casino item handlinglocation in the floor area 302. For example, the registration device 325may be located in each pit 35 instead of the procedure room 32. At eachpit 35, a pit reader/writer 352 may perform the same process ofregistration as described above, for the gaming chips 72 that are filledfrom the bank 34 and/or perform the cancelation process for the gamingchips 72 that are credited to the bank 34.

With this configuration, a new gaming chip 72 is registered andactivated only when it is brought into the pit 35 near the table 36, sothat even if it is stolen by a player or casino staff member during thejourney out of the security area 301 to reach the pit, such gaming chip72 will not have been activated yet, thus preventing the stolen gamingchip 72 from being effectively used. In addition, by installing theregistration device 325 in the table 36, when a suspected fraudulent actoccurs, the status of the gaming chip 72 suspected to be involved in thefraud can be immediately set to “suspicious” or “unusable” in the table36.

(VARIANT 7) As described above, each casino item handling location isequipped with a reader/writer that reads from and writes to the RFID tag721 of the gaming chip 72. Therefore, the casino system 30 may managethe movement of the gaming chip 72 in the casino. The casino system 30may, in particular, manage the movement of the gaming chips 72 in thesecurity area 301. The security area 301 is divided into a plurality oflocations, including the cashier 33. The gaming chip 72 has an RFID tag721 that stores identification information. The casino system 30 has afirst reader that reads the identification information from the RFID tag721 of the gaming chip 72 as it moves between the plurality of casinoitem handling locations, a second reader that reads the identificationinformation from the RFID tag 721 of the gaming chip 72 as it exits thesecurity area 301 to the floor area 302, and a recording device thatrecords the identification information read by the first and secondreaders as the movement history of gaming chips 72. With thisconfiguration, the movement of gaming chips 72 in the casino can bemanaged.

In the casino system 30, the recording device may record the destinationand/or the source of the movement as well as the identificationinformation in the movement history. This configuration makes itpossible to ascertain whether the movement is accurate.

The casino system 30 may further comprise a management device thatdetermines whether a move is appropriate or not based on the movementhistory. This configuration allows inappropriate moves to be detected.

In the casino system 30, the management device may record, in therecording device, that a gaming chip 72 having a movement history thatdoes not conform to the predetermined possibilities of the movementhistory is fraudulent or suspected to be fraudulent.

The casino system 30 may further comprise a third reader that readsidentification information from the RFID tags 721 of the gaming chips 72entering the security area 301 from the floor area 302. Thisconfiguration allows for advanced management of the gaming chips 72 inthe casino.

In the casino system 30, the management device may issue an alert orrecord an alert when a destination is recorded in the movement historyof a gaming chip 72 that leaves the floor area 302, and the gaming chip72 is not received at the destination. This configuration can detectthat the movement from the security area 301 to a predetermined locationin the floor area 302 has not been completed successfully.

In the casino system 30, the management device may issue an alert orrecord when the gaming chip 72 is not received at the destination withina predetermined time. This configuration allows the system to determinethat there is an abnormality if the move is not completed within apredetermined time.

Further, a chip management system may be configured to include the abovecasino system. The chip management system may comprise the casino systemdescribed above and a fourth reader that is installed at the gamingtable and reads identification information from the RFID tag 721 of thegaming chip 72. This configuration enables the management of gamingchips 72 in the casino, including the security floor 302.

In the chip management system, the management device may calculate thetotal amount of gaming chips 72 held by players in the casino. Thisconfiguration allows the total amount owed by the casino in real time tobe ascertained.

In the chip management system, the management device may record the dateand time information in the movement history. This configuration allowsthe movement history to be recorded in more detail.

In the chip management system, the management device may detectsuspicious movements of the gaming chip 72 based on the date and timeinformation. In this configuration, various suspicious movements can bedetected.

In the chip management system, the management device may record theinformation of the staff involved in the movement in the movementhistory. In this configuration, when there is an inappropriate movement,the staff involved in it can be identified.

(OTHER VARIANTS) In the first embodiment described above, a pit 35 isprovided in the floor area 302 to manage a plurality of tables 36, butthere may be no pit 35. In this case, the tables 36 may be provided withcabinets that house the new casino items (playing card packages, gamingchips, dice, etc.) to be used. The cabinet may be equipped with anantenna and a reader for reading the RFID tags attached to the casinoitems stored therein.

In the first embodiment described above, an example in which the casinoitem is a gaming chip 72 with a built-in RFID tag 721 is described, butthe casino item is not limited to a gaming chip. The casino item may be,for example, a playing card, and in particular may be a playing cardpackage in which a plurality of decks of randomly shuffled playing cardsare packaged. Also, each and every playing card may be managed as acasino item.

In the first embodiment described above, each of the gaming chips 72 asa casino item, was given identification information, and the gaming chip72 had identification information given by means of RFID tag 721.Alternatively, the identification information may be written on thesurface (preferably on the side) of the gaming chip 72 in a form that isdifficult to see with the naked eye. For example, a dot pattern may beformed on the side surface with dots of a size that is difficult torecognize with the naked eye, and the identification information of thegaming chip 72 may be recorded in this dot pattern. In this case, acamera or scanner is provided at the casino item handling location suchas table 36. At the casino item handling location, the side of thegaming chip 72 may be captured and image analysis may be performed onthe captured image to obtain the identification information of thegaming chip 72.

The procedure room system 320 may present a list of all gaming chips 72whose status is usable and/or calculate a total amount by referring tothe database 326. The procedure room system 320 may also calculate thetotal amount for each type of location (e.g., the total amount for theplurality of gaming chips 72 present in the cashiers 33, the totalamount of the plurality of gaming chips 72 present in the plurality oftables, the total amount of the plurality of gaming chips owned byplayers, etc.) may be calculated.

(SECOND EMBODIMENT) The second embodiment relates to a cage system formanaging gaming chips in a cage in a casino and a chip management systemincluding the cage system.

A gaming chip tracing system is known as a system for managing gamingchips in a casino, in which an RFID tag storing at least a gaming chipID is embedded in a gaming chip, and by associating the gaming chip IDwith a user ID, the system monitors which user is in possession of whichgaming chip.

Also known is a gaming chip security system that stores a valid gamingchip ID in a database and determines the validity or authenticity of thegaming chip by reading the gaming chip ID from the RFID tag of thegaming chip in the casino (e.g., at a table) and checking it against thedatabase (see, for example, JPA2019-5565).

Gaming chips are brought into the casino through a cage inside thecasino, and gaming chips to be discarded are also taken out of the cage.Conventional gaming chip tracing systems do not necessarily monitor themovement of all gaming chips in the casino, including the movement ofgaming chips inside the cage and between the cage and each location inthe casino.

Therefore, the second embodiment provides a cage system for monitoringthe movement of gaming chips in the cage and the movement between thecage and each location in the casino, and a gaming chip managementsystem including the cage system for managing the gaming chips in thecasino.

One aspect of the present embodiment is a cage system for managing themovement of gaming chips in a cage in a casino hall, wherein the cage isdivided into a plurality of locations including cashiers, the gamingchips have RFID tags storing chip IDs, and the cage system comprise: afirst reader configured to read the chip ID from the RFID tag of thegaming chip moving between the plurality of locations; a second readerconfigured to read the chip ID from the RFID tag of the gaming chipexiting the cage into the casino hall; and a recorder configured torecord the chip ID read by the first reader and the second reader as themovement history of the gaming chip. With this configuration, themovement of the gaming chips in the cage can be managed.

In the cage system described above, the recorder may record thedestination and/or the source of the movement along with the chip ID inthe movement history. With this configuration, it is possible todetermine whether the movement is performed accurately.

The cage system described above may further comprise management deviceconfigured to determine whether the movement is appropriate based on themovement history. With this configuration, inappropriate movement can bedetected.

In the cage system described above, the management device may record, inthe recorder, that the gaming chip with a movement history that does notconform to the predetermined possibilities of the movement history issuspected to be fraudulent or illegal.

The cage system described above may further comprise a third readerconfigured to read the chip ID from the RFID tag of the gaming chipentering the cage from the casino hall. This configuration allows forcomplete control of the gaming chips in the cage.

In the cage system described above, the management device may issue analert or record an alert when the destination is recorded in themovement history of the gaming chips leaving the cage for the casinohall, and when the gaming chips are not received at the destination.This configuration can detect that the transfer from the cage to thepredetermined location in the casino hall was not completedsuccessfully.

In the cage system described above, the management device may issue analert or record if the gaming chips are not received at the destinationwithin a predetermined time. With this configuration, it is possible todetermine that there is an abnormality if the move is not completedwithin a predetermined time.

One aspect of the embodiment is a chip management system having aconfiguration comprising: the cage system of any of the above; and afourth reader installed at a game table and configured to read the chipID from the RFID tag of the gaming chip. With this configuration, gamingchips in a casino hall including cages can be managed.

In the above chip management system, the management device may calculatethe total amount of the gaming chips held by the players in the casinohall. This configuration allows the total amount of debts of the casinoin real time to be determined.

In the above chip management system, the management device may recordthe date and time information in the movement history. Thisconfiguration makes it possible to record the movement history in moredetail.

In the above chip management system, the management device may detectsuspicious movements of the gaming chips based on the date and timeinformation. This configuration allows various suspicious movements tobe detected.

In the above chip management system, the management device may recordthe information of the staff involved in the movement in the movementhistory. This configuration makes it possible to identify the staffinvolved in an inappropriate move when it occurs.

The cage system and the gaming chip management system will be describedin detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the inventionis not limited by the following embodiments, and the components in thefollowing embodiments include those that can be easily assumed by thoseskilled in the art or are substantially the same.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of an overall configuration of thecasino according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Thecasino hall 1 is equipped with a cage 10 and a plurality of game tables42-45. The floor on which the game tables 42-45 are equipped may bedivided into a VIP floor and a mass floor. The cage 10 is a room thatonly security staff can enter. The cage 10 is divided into vault 11,main bank room 12, F/C bank room 13, and cashier room 14.

A gate 21 leading to the outside of the cage 10 is provided in the vault11, a gate 22 is provided between the vault 11 and the main bank room12, a gate 23 is provided between the main bank room 12 and the F/C bankroom 13, a gate 24 is provided between the main bank room 12 and thecashier room 14, and a gate 24 is provided in the F/C bank room 13leading to the casino hall 1 with game tables 42-45. In the cashier room14, there are gates (windows) 26-28 leading to the casino hall 1. Eachgate 21-25 may allow the traffic of people and gaming chips, or onlygaming chips may pass through, and a door for people to enter and exitmay be provided separately from the gate. The windows 26-28 are openenough to allow the exchange of gaming chips for cash.

The vault 11 has a vault staff 831, the main bank 12 has a main bankstaff 832, the F/C bank room 13 has a F/C bank staff 833, and thecashier room 14 has a cashier staff 834-836 corresponding to windows26-28. 34-836 are located in cashier room 14, corresponding to windows26-28.

In the casino hall 1, the game tables 42-45 are installed, and onedealer 52-55 is placed at each game table 42-45. In the example of FIG.10 , only four game tables are shown, but in reality, more game tablesare placed in the casino hall 1. In addition, pit managers 56 arearranged for a plurality of adjacent game tables 42.

In the example of FIG. 10 , there are players 61-69 in the casino hall1. Players in the casino hall 1 can purchase gaming chips or redeemgaming chips through any of the windows 26-28, like player 61 shown inFIG. 10 . Players who have purchased gaming chips at cage 10 can betgaming chips at game tables 42-45 and enjoy the game. If the playerloses the game, the dealer collects the gaming chips, and if the playerwins the game, the dealer reimburses the player according to the rulesof the game and the amount of the bet. In this way, the amount of gamingchips a player has can increase or decrease depending on the game. Whenthe player runs out of gaming chips, he can buy in again at cage 10.Players can also redeem (buy out) their gaming chips at the cage whenthey are done playing.

At the game tables 42-45, the gaming chips are collected from playerswho lose the game and gaming chips are paid to players who win the game.As a result, the number of gaming chips held by the dealer (casino) atthe game table increases or decreases. When there is a shortage ofgaming chips at the gaming table, the gaming chip transport staff 51receives gaming chips from the gate 24 of the F/C bank room 13,transports them to the gaming table, and replenishes the gaming table.Replenishing the table games with gaming chips in this way is alsocalled “fill”. When there is an excess of gaming chips at the gamingtable, the gaming chip transport staff 51 transports the gaming chipsfrom the gaming table to the cage 10, and the gaming chips are stored inthe F/C bank room 13 through the gate 24. This return of gaming chipsfrom the game table to the cage 10 is also referred to as “credit”.

When managing the movement history of gaming chips in the game hall 1,the source, destination, and possible locations between them arereferred to as locations in the following. In the case of the example inFIG. 10 , for example, each room and each game table in the cage 10 iscalled a location.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a gaming chip according to the secondembodiment of the present invention. A $100 gaming chip is shown in FIG.11 . The gaming chip 70 has a disc shape and the face value amount(“$100” in the case of FIG. 10 ) is shown on both sides. Multiple layersare laminated in the thickness direction in the order of a white layer,a colored layer, and a white layer, and it has a striped pattern on theside with the colored layer sandwiched between the white layers. Thecolor of the colored layer differs depending on the face value of thechip, so the face value of the chip can be determined by identifying thecolor of the colored layer.

Inside the gaming chip 70 is an RFID tag 71, which stores the chip ID ofthe chip and the face value of the chip. The RFID tag 71 stores the chipID of the chip and the face value of the chip. The RFID tag 71 may bewritable, in which case the current location or holder of the gamingchip may be recorded in the RFID tag 71, and the history of the pastlocation or holder may also be recorded in the RFID tag 71. The gamingchip 70 may be constructed by crimping a plurality of plates together,or may be constructed by resin molding.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of the gaming chip management systemaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention. The chipmanagement system 1000 has a cage system 501 and a plurality of tablesystems 502. The table systems 502 are provided for each game table. Thecage system 501 is equipped with a chip management computer 100 and achip management database 101 for integrated management of chips in thecage 10 and in the casino hall 1.

The cage system 501 is also equipped with a vault computer 111 installedin the vault 11, and vault card readers 112 and vault chip readers 113connected thereto. The cage system 501 is also equipped with a main bankcomputer 121 to be installed in the main bank room 12, and main bankcard readers 122 and main bank chip readers 123 to be connected to it.The cage system 501 is also equipped with an F/C bank computer 131installed in the F/C bank room 13, and F/C bank card readers 132 and F/Cbank chip readers 133 connected to it. The cage system 501 has a cashiercomputer 141 installed in the cashier room 14 for each of the windows 26to 28, and a cashier card reader 142 and a cashier chip reader 143connected thereto.

The table system 502 has a table computer 151, a table card reader 152connected thereto, a table chip reader 153, a chip tray chip reader 154,and a plurality of betting area chip readers 155. Although only onetable system 502 is shown in FIG. 12 , there are multiple table systems502 corresponding to multiple game tables.

The vault computer 111, the main bank computer 121, the F/C bankcomputer 131, the cashier computer 141, the table computer 151, and thechip management database 101 are each connected to the chip managementcomputer 100. The chip management computer 100, the other computers, andthe chip management database 101 may be wired or wirelessly connectedvia a local network. Alternatively, the chip management computer 101 andthe chip management data 101 may be installed on a wide area network(e.g., the Internet) and connected to other computers via the wide areanetwork. In other words, the chip management computer 100 and the chipmanagement database 101 may be installed in the cloud instead of in acasino.

Each of the computers 100, 111, 121, 131, 141, 151 is connected to aninput device, not shown in the figure, for receiving operational inputby the corresponding staff member. The input devices are, for example,keyboards, mice, buttons, touch pads, touch panels, and voice inputdevices. Only these input devices and communication devices may be leftat the corresponding locations, and the functions of each computer maybe integrated into the chip management computer 100. In this case,various signals (e.g., input signals input to the input devices, signalsread by the chip reader, etc.) may be transmitted directly between theinput devices, card readers, and chip readers at each location and themanagement computer 100.

The card readers 112, 122, 132, 142, and 152 at each location read thestaff ID or player ID from the ID card held by the staff or player.Specifically, the vault card reader 112, the main bank card reader 122,and the F/C bank card reader 132 read the staff ID from thecorresponding staff ID card, and the cashier card reader 142 reads thestaff ID from the cashier staff ID card. The cashier card reader 142reads the staff ID from the cashier staff ID card, and the cashier cardreader 142 reads the staff ID from the cashier staff ID card. The tablecard reader 152 reads the staff ID of the corresponding dealer and readsthe player ID of the player who plays.

The chip readers 113, 123, 133, 143, 153, 155 of each location readinformation from and write information to the RFID tag 71 of the gamingchip 70. In particular, each of the chip readers 113, 123, 133, 143, and153 can read the information from the RFID tag 71 of the gaming chip 70and write the information to the RFID tag 71 when the gaming chip 70 ismoved from another location to that location and when the gaming chip ismoved from that location to another location (i.e., when the gaming chip70 leaves that location).

FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram of a game table according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 13 , a game table 42is illustrated. The game table 42 is provided with a plurality ofplaying positions. The game table 42 has on the table surface aplurality of betting areas corresponding to the plurality of playingpositions, a chip tray for containing the dealer's chips, a dealer areafor reading and writing information on the RFID tags 71 of the gamingchips 70, and an ID card area for reading the ID cards of the dealer andthe player.

The chip tray is provided with a tray antenna 514 for reading the RFIDtags 71 of the gaming chips 70 contained therein. Each of the pluralityof betting areas is provided with betting area antennas 515 a-515 einside the table surface for reading the RFID tags 71 of the gamingchips 70 placed therein. In each of the multiple betting areas, abetting area antenna 515 a-515 e is provided inside the table surfacefor reading the RFID tag 71 of the gaming chip 70 placed therein; in thedealer area, a dealer antenna 513 is provided inside the table surfacefor reading the RFID tag 71 of the gaming chip 70 placed therein; in theID card area, an ID card antenna 512 is provided inside the tablesurface.

Each antenna 512-515 is connected to the table computer 151 andtransmits the readout signal to the table computer 151. The tablecomputer 151 obtains various information stored in the RFID tags 71 andID cards by decoding the signals from each antenna.

Staff members assigned to each location have their own card IDs to beread by the corresponding card readers before they go to work. Thecomputer at each location transmits the read staff ID and its date andtime to the chip management computer 100. The chip management computer100 stores the staff IDs read by the card readers at each location inthe chip management database 101 along with the location and the dateand time information.

The chip management database 101 stores a player table, a chip table, agame table, a staff table, and a movement history table. The playertable stores registration information of each player. The player tablerecords, for each player, the player ID, various player attributes, aswell as the player status such as VIP, suspicious, blacklist, etc. Thechip table contains the chip ID, face value, type, and manufacturinginformation, as well as chip statuses such as valid, missing, stolen,and invalid. The game table contains the table ID, game type, etc. Thestaff table contains staff IDs, various staff attributes, and otherinformation. The movement history table records histories of thelocations or holders of the gaming chip 70.

(MOVEMENT MANAGEMENT OF GAMING CHIPS) FIG. 14 shows how the gaming chipsare moved according to the second embodiment of the present invention.As shown in FIG. 14 , for each location except the vault, there aremultiple possibilities of movement from the source when a gaming chipcomes in, and multiple possibilities of movement to the destination whenit goes out. The chip management system in this embodiment recognizesthese moves. For this purpose, several methods can be employed asfollows.

(FIRST METHOD) In the first method, when a gaming chip 70 comes in at acomputer of each location, the source of the movement is designated atthe computer of the location, and the designation is reported to thechip management computer 100 together with the chip ID of the incominggaming chip 70. When a gaming chip 70 leaves a location, the informationof the location or the source of the movement and the chip ID of thegaming chip 70 are reported to the chip management computer 100.

For example, when a gaming chip 70 moves from the main bank room 12 tothe F/C bank room 13, the main bank computer 121 reads the chip ID ofthe gaming chip 70 with the main bank chip reader 123 and reports to thechip management computer 100 that it is leaving the main bank room 12with the read chip ID. The chip management computer 100 reports thisinformation to the chip management computer 100.

In the F/C bank room 13 that has received the gaming chip 70 from themain bank room 12, the F/C bank staff 33 operates the input device ofthe F/C bank computer 131 to input the designation that the gaming chip70 is a gaming chip 70 that came from the main bank room 12 (thesource), and the F/C bank chip reader 133 reads the chip ID of thegaming chip 70. The F/C bank computer 131 reports to the chip managementcomputer 100 the read chip ID and the designation that the destinationis the main bank room 12. The chip management computer 100 updates thechip management database 101 in response to this report.

FIG. 15 shows an example of data in a chip management database that isupdated by the first method of managing movement of the gaming chipsaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention. The examplein FIG. 15 shows the movement history of a gaming chip 70 whose chip IDis “24825”. The chip management database 101 stores the followinginformation as information on the movement history of the gaming chip70: chip ID 601, entry/exit information 602, movement source information603, movement destination information 604, and date and time 605 of thegaming chip.

According to the first method, as shown in FIG. 15 , for a gaming chip70 leaving a location, information on the source of movement is obtained(history H61), and for a gaming chip entering a location, information onthe source and destination of movement is obtained (history H62). Basedon the history H61 and the history H62, it can be confirmed that thegaming chip 70 has indeed left the main bank room 12 and has beenreceived in the F/C bank room 13.

(SECOND METHOD) In the second method, in a computer at each location,when a gaming chip 70 leaves, the destination is designated in thecomputer at that location, and the designation is reported to the chipmanagement computer 100 along with the chip ID of the outgoing gamingchip 70, and when a gaming chip 70 enters each location, the informationof the location or destination and the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 arereported to the chip management computer 100.

For example, when a gaming chip 70 is transferred (credited) fromTable-4 to F/C bank room 13, the dealer reads the chip ID of the gamingchip 70 with the table chip reader 153 at the game table, and operatesthe input device of the table computer 151. When the gaming chip 70 istransferred (credited), the dealer reads the chip ID of the gaming chip70 with the table chip reader 153 at the game table and designates theF/C bank room 13 as the destination (designates the credit) by operatingthe input device of the table computer 151. The table computer 151reports this chip ID, the F/C bank room 13 as the destination, and thetable ID of table-4 as the source to the chip management computer 100.The chip management computer 100 updates the chip management database101 in response to this report.

At the destination F/C bank room 13, upon receiving the gaming chip 70,the F/C bank staff 33 reads the chip ID of this gaming chip 70 with theF/C bank chip reader 133. The F/C bank computer 131 reports the readchip ID and the fact that the chip is coming into the F/C bank room 13to the chip management computer 100. The chip management computerupdates the chip management database 101 in response to this report.

FIG. 16 shows an example of data in a chip management database that isupdated by the second method of managing movement of the gaming chipsaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention. Also in theexample of FIG. 16 , the movement history of a gaming chip whose chip IDis “24825” is shown. The chip management database 101 stores thefollowing information as information on the movement history of thegaming chip 70: chip ID 601, entry/exit information 602, movement sourceinformation 603, movement destination information 604, and date and time605 of the gaming chip.

According to the second method, as shown in FIG. 16 , for a gaming chip70 that is leaving a location, information on its source and destinationis obtained (history H71), and for a gaming chip 70 that is entering alocation, information on its destination is obtained (history H72), andbased on the history H71 and the history H72, it can be confirmed thatthe gaming chip 70 did indeed leave the table-4 and was received in theF/C bank room 13.

(THIRD METHOD) The third method is a combination of the first method andthe second method. That is, in the computer of each location, when agaming chip 70 enters, the source of the movement is specified, and whena gaming chip 70 leaves, the destination of the movement is specified.

(FOURTH METHOD) In the fourth method, the staff at each locationdesignates, using the input device of the computer at each location,whether a gaming chip 70 is leaving or entering, and reports thedesignation to the chip management computer 100 along with the chip IDof the gaming chip 70 read by the chip reader. The chip managementcomputer 100 updates the entry/exit information and location informationin the chip management database 101 based on this report.

FIG. 17 shows an example of data in a chip management database that isupdated by the fourth method of managing movement of the gaming chipsaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention. The chipmanagement database 101 stores, as information on the movement historyof the gaming chip 70, information on the chip ID 601, entry/exitinformation 602, location information 603, and date and time 604 of thegaming chip.

According to the fourth method, since the entry/exit information 602 andthe location information 603 are recorded as shown in FIG. 17 , it canbe confirmed that the gaming chip 70 has indeed left the vault 11 andbeen received in the main bank room 12 based on the history H81 and thehistory H82.

(FIFTH METHOD) In the fifth method, only the location information isrecorded. That is, the staff at each location reads the chip ID of thegaming chip 70 with the chip reader at that location when the gamingchip 70 is at that location, and reports it to the chip managementcomputer 100. The chip management computer 100 updates the chipmanagement database 101 in response to this report. The staff at eachlocation may read the chip ID at the timing when the gaming chip 70 ismoved to the location, or at the timing when the gaming chip 70 is movedfrom the location, or at any other timing.

FIG. 18 shows an example of data in a chip management database that isupdated by the fifth method of managing movement of the gaming chipsaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention. The chipmanagement database 101 stores information on the chip ID 601, locationinformation 603, and date and time 604 of the gaming chip in question asinformation on the movement history of the gaming chip 70.

The fifth method also allows the user to confirm that the gaming chip 70did indeed leave the vault 11 and was received at the main bank room 12based on the history H91 and the history H92, since the locationinformation 603 is recorded, as shown in FIG. 18 .

It is also possible to decide which of the above first to five methodsto use for each combination of source and destination. For example, thefourth or fifth method may be used to move the gaming chips 70 in thecage 11, the second method to specify the destination at the source maybe used to move the chips from the F/C bank room 13 to the game table,and the first method to specify the source at the destination may beused to move the chips from the game table to the F/C bank room 13.

(PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION AT CASHIER) When the gaming chip 70 istransferred from the cashier room 14 to the player (the player purchasesthe gaming chip 70 at the cashier), the cashier computer 141 reads thechip ID of the gaming chip 70 with the cashier chip reader 143, and thecashier card reader 142 reads the player ID from the player's ID card,and reports the player as an designation with the read chip ID to thechip management computer 100. The chip management computer 100 updatesthe chip management database 101 in response to this report.

When the gaming chip 70 is moved from the player to the cashier room 14(the player redeems the gaming chip 70 at the cashier), the cashiercomputer 141 reads the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 with the cashierchip reader 143 and the cashier card reader 14 reads the player ID fromthe player's ID card, and reports the player as a designation from whomthe chip was moved along with the read chip ID to the chip managementcomputer 100. The chip management computer 100 updates the chipmanagement database 101 in response to this report.

FIG. 19 shows an example of data in a chip management database that isupdated by the fourth method of managing movement of the gaming chipsaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention. In theexample of FIG. 19 , player 5 purchases a gaming chip 70 at the cashier2 (histories H101 and H102), and then the player 5 redeems the gamingchips 70 at cashier 3 (histories H103 and H104). In the case of thefirst to third methods, only the source (cashier) and destination(player) information can be recorded with the entry/exit information 602as N/A.

For example, in a cashier, when the cashier staff receives a gaming chip70 from a player, the cashier staff specifies that the cashier willreceive the chip and then reads the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 usingthe cashier chip reader 143. In the case of handing over the gaming chip70 to the player, the player may specify that he or she will receive thegaming chip and then use the cashier chip reader 143 to read the chip IDof the gaming chip 70.

This makes it clear, using a single chip reader, whether the gaming chip70 whose chip ID is read by the chip reader is entering or leaving thelocation. Also, in the case of chip exchange, the chip reader can beused to clearly distinguish between gaming chips 70 received from aplayer and gaming chips 70 given to a player, and identify their chipIDs.

(COLLECTION AND PAYOUT) A player who has purchased a gaming chip 70 canplay a game at a game table. In this case, the game table first readsthe player's ID card with the table card reader 152 equipped with the IDcard antenna 512. When the table card reader 152 reads the player's IDcard, the playing position of the player is specified. This allows thesystem to recognize which betting area is occupied by which player. Thebetting area antennas 515 a to 515 e may be one or more antennas thatread a plurality of betting areas together as one betting area withoutdistinguishing each player position, and read the gaming chips 70 placedin the one betting area. In addition, there may be no antennas in thebetting area.

If a player loses a game at the table, the betting gaming chips 70 arecollected. In this case, the chip tray antenna 514 reads the chip IDs ofthe gaming chips 70 contained in the chip tray before collection andalso after collection. By comparing the chip IDs of the chip traysbefore and after collection, the table computer 151 recognizes the chipIDs of the gaming chips 70 that are newly brought into the chip tray(i.e., collected from the player).

The table computer 151 reports the chip ID read by the chip tray antenna14 to the chip management computer 100 for the gaming chip 70 collectedfrom the player, together with the designation that it is a move to thechip tray of the game table. The chip management computer 100 updatesthe chip management database 101 in response to this report.

In the case that by using the betting area antennas 515 a to 515 e torecognize the chip IDs of the betting gaming chips 70 and to recognizethe game results, the table computer 151 can determine for each bettinggaming chip 70 whether it should be collected or not, it may update themovement history of the gaming chip 70 in the chip management database101 to the effect that it leaves the player and moves to the game tablein accordance with such determination when the bet gaming chip 70 shouldbe collected. Such an update and the subsequent update to the effectthat the gaming chip 70 has been accepted by the chip tray can be usedto confirm that the gaming chip 70 to be collected has indeed beencollected by the chip tray. In other words, if a movement history isrecorded in which the entry/exit information 602 is “OUT” and thelocation information 603 is one of the players as it should becollected, but there is no subsequent movement history of receipt in thechip tray, it is clear that the gaming chip 70 to be recovered has notbeen recovered correctly.

In this embodiment, the chip IDs newly brought into the chip tray by thecollection are determined by comparing the chip IDs read out from thechip tray before and after the collection, but alternatively, the chiptray may have a special chip recovery area that temporarily houses therecovered chip tray, and the chip ID of the recovered gaming chip 70 maybe determined by installing an antenna in the recovery chip area that isindependent of the rest of the chip tray.

Alternatively, the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 to be collected may beidentified by having the dealer antenna read the RFID 71 on the way fromthe betting area to the chip tray.

When a player wins a game, he/she receives a payout of the gaming chip70. For the gaming chips 70 to be paid out to the player from the chiptray, the dealer first places them in the dealer area of the game table.At this time, the dealer antenna 513 reads the chip ID from the RFID tag71 of the gaming chip 70 in the dealer area. Since the table computer151 knows which players are playing in each betting area, it can linkthe gaming chip 70 to be paid out with the player who will receive thepayout (the location information of the gaming chip 70 to be redeemed isthe player concerned).

The method of identifying the chip ID of the paid-out gaming chip 70 andlinking it to the player is not limited to the above. For example, thetable computer 151 can identify the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 to bepaid out by reading the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 in the chip traybefore and after the payout, and link it to the player who receives thepayout.

When the gaming chip 70 to be paid out is placed in the betting area,the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 may be read by the betting areaantenna 515 of the betting area. In this case, the chip ID of thepaid-out gaming chip 70 (associated with the dealer or casino) as wellas the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 that was bet on (associated withthe player) will be read. The chip management computer 100 associatesthe chip ID of the paid-out gaming chip 70 with the player who isassociated the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 that had been bet on.

An antenna and reading area for reading the RFID tag 71 of the gamingchip 70 to be paid out may be provided at each player position. Suchantennas and reading areas may be located between the betting area ofeach player position and the dealer. In this case, it is still knownwhich player is in each player position, so that the paid-out gamingchip 70 can be associated with the player ID. In this case, the dealermay first have the paid-out gaming chip 70 read by the antenna in thereading area of the corresponding player position, and then move thepaid-out gaming chip 70 to the betting area next to the betting chips.The paid-out gaming chip 70 may be moved to the betting area next to thebetting chips, or the corresponding player may take the redeemed gamingchip 70 that the dealer has placed in the reading area.

The table computer 151 reports the combination of the chip ID of thegaming chip 70 to be paid out and the player ID of the player receivingthe payout to the chip management computer 100. In response to thisreport, the chip management computer 100 updates the movement history inthe chip management database 101 to the effect that the gaming chip 70that was on the game table has been moved to the player.

Even at the time of payout, the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 to be paidout may be identified by having the RFID tag 71 read by the dealerantenna once the gaming chip 70 is removed from the chip tray.

In the examples of FIGS. 15 to 19 above, in each movement history ofeach gaming chip 70, not only the information of the location but alsothe staff ID of the staff involved in the movement at that location maybe recorded. In each movement history, the status information of thegaming chip 70, such as “valid”, “invalid”, “missing”, “suspicious”,“not redeemable”, “not playable”, etc., may be recorded. A flag may alsobe used to indicate whether it is valid or invalid. Furthermore, in theexamples of FIGS. 15 to 19 above, each movement history record may haveinformation on the face value of each gaming chip 70 as well as its chipID.

As described above, by reading the chip ID at each location, themovement history of each gaming chip 70 can be recorded in the chipmanagement database 101. This allows the chip management computer 100 torealize various functions described below.

(TIME LIMIT AND DETECTION OF DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS) In this function,the chip management computer 100 monitors the movement of the gamingchips 70 between the F/C bank room 13 and the game table and issues analert if there is a problem with the movement. In other words, the chipmanagement computer 100 starts timing when it receives a report from theF/C bank computer 131 that a certain gaming chip 70 has left the F/Cbank room 13 to one of the game tables. If the chip management computer100 does not receive a report from the table computer 151 of thedestination game table that the gaming chip 70 has been received withina predetermined time (e.g., 5 minutes), it may issue an alert. Thisalert may be sent to the dealer of the relevant game table, the pitmanager managing the relevant game table, and so on. At this time, thechip management computer 100 may update the status of the gaming chip 70in the chip management database 101 to “missing”, “not redeemable”, “notplayable”, etc.

In addition, when the chip management computer 100 receives a reportfrom the F/C bank computer 131 that a certain gaming chip 70 has leftthe F/C bank room 13 with one of the game tables designated as thedestination, the chip management computer 100 may receive a report fromthe game table computer 151 that the gaming chip 70 has left the F/Cbank room 13 with a game table other than the one designated as thedestination. An alert may also be issued when a report is received fromthe table computer 151 of a gaming table other than the one designatedas the destination that the gaming chip 70 has been received. In thiscase, the chip management computer 100 may update the status of thegaming chip 70 in the chip management database 101 to “wrongDestination”, “not redeemable”, “bot playable”, etc.

(DETECTION OF IMPROPER MOVEMENT) In this function, the chip managementcomputer 100 refers to the chip management database 101 and issues analert when there is an inappropriate movement of the gaming chip 70. Themovement of the gaming chips 70 is limited to the patterns shown in FIG.14 , and any other movement patterns other than these are inappropriatemovements. Therefore, each time the chip management computer 100 updatesthe chip management database 101, it determines whether or not themovement for that update is appropriate.

For example, if the cage 10 has the configuration shown in FIG. 10 , nogaming chips 70 are moved directly from the vault 11 to the cashier room14, and for example, no gaming chips 70 that have not been moved fromthe cashier room 14 to the player are collected at the game table, andif these movement histories are discovered, the chip management computer100 determines that it is an improper movement. In addition, if a gamingchip 70 that is supposed to be in the possession of one player isredeemed at a cashier by another player, the possibility of moneylaundering is suspected. In this way, the chip management computer 100detects inappropriate transfers and issues an alert.

(TOTAL AMOUNT OF PLAYER CHIPS IN REAL TIME) In this function, the chipmanagement computer 100, by referring to the chip management database101, extracts only the gaming chips 70 held by any of the players in thelatest information of the movement history and calculates the totalamount of those chips, thereby determining the total amount of chips 70held by all the players at that time, i.e., the casino's outstandingdebt at that time.

The total amount of player chips may be calculated as the total amountof all gaming chips managed in the chip management database 101 minusthe total amount of all gaming chips 70 in the cage 10 and the totalamount of all gaming chips 70 at the game table.

(CENTRAL MANAGEMENT OF FILLS AND CREDITS) In this function, the chipmanagement computer 100 extracts, for each game table, the gaming chips70 in that game table by referring to the chip management database 101,and detects the number of chips per face value. Then, if there aregaming chips 70 of a face value amount for which the number of chips isinsufficient, a notification may be issued to the F/C bank computer 131in the F/C bank room 13 and the table computer 151 of the game table inquestion to replenish (fill) the gaming chips 70 of that face valueamount. The notification may specify the number of gaming chips 70 perface value to be refilled or the total amount of gaming chips 70 perface value to be refilled.

By referring to the chip management database 101, the chip managementcomputer 100 extracts the gaming chips 70 in each game table and detectsthe total number of gaming chips 70 in that game table. If the totalnumber of chips exceeds the predetermined number, which is close to theupper limit that can be accommodated in the game table, a notice may beissued to the F/C bank computer 131 in the F/C bank room 13 and thetable computer 151 of the game table to collect (credit) the gamingchips 70 from the table. The notice may specify the number of gamingchips 70 per face value to be replenished or the total amount of gamingchips 70 per face value to be replenished.

The notification may also be issued in the same manner for the movementof gaming chips 70 within the cage 10. For example, when the number ofgaming chips 70 becomes low in a certain window of the cashier room 14,a notification may be issued to the cashier computer 141 and the mainbank computer 121 to urge them to replenish the cashier room 14 withgaming chips 70.

In the above, a notification urging movement was issued to both thedestination and the source, but instead, a notification may be issued toonly one of the destination and the source. At the location thatreceives the notification to move, the staff member instructs thecomputer at that location via an input device whether to accept theproposal to move, and the computer at that location may notify the otherlocation of the order to move if either the destination or the sourcelocation accepts the proposal. If one of the locations accepts theproposal, the computer of the location may notify the other location ofthe order to move.

(MANAGEMENT OF MULTIPLE GAMING CHIP MOVES) In the above, the method ofmanaging movement by updating the movement history in the chipmanagement database 101 for each gaming chip 70 was explained. However,it is also possible to manage whether those multiple gaming chips 70have moved without excess or shortage when multiple gaming chips 70 movebetween locations.

The following describes an example of a case in which multiple gamingchips 70 are moved from F/C bank room 13 to a game table (fill). Whenthe gaming chips 70 are moved from F/C bank room 13 to a given gametable, F/C bank staff 33 read the chip ID of the moved gaming chip 70with the F/C bank chip reader 133 in the F/C bank room 13. The F/C bankcomputer 131 reports the read chip ID to the chip management computer100. The chip management computer 100 stores the chip IDs (source chipIDs) of the plurality of gaming chips 70 pertaining to the fill, andalso obtains the face value of those chip IDs by referring to the chipmanagement database 101 based on the report, to ascertain the totalamount of gaming chips 70 pertaining to the fill (source total amount).This allows the chip management computer 100 to determine the sourcechip ID, the total number of gaming chips 70 pertaining to the fill(total number of chips in the source of the movement), and the sourcetotal amount based on the information from the F/C bank computer 131.

When the gaming chips 70 are brought to the game table, the dealer readsthe chip IDs of the brought gaming chips 70 by the table chip reader atthe game table, and the table computer 151 reports the plurality of theread chip IDs to the chip management computer 100. The chip managementcomputer 100 stores those plurality of chip IDs (destination chip IDs),and also obtains the face value of those chip IDs by referring to thechip management database 101 based on the report, and ascertains thetotal amount of gaming chips 70 pertaining to the fill (destinationtotal amount). In this way, the chip management computer 100 determinesthe destination chip ID, the total number of gaming chips 70 pertainingto the fill (destination total number), and the destination total amountbased on the information from the table computer 151.

The chip management computer 100 compares the source chip ID and thedestination chip ID to determine whether or not they are an exact match.The chip management computer 100 also compares the total amount of thesource chip and the total amount of the destination chip to determinewhether they match. In addition, the chip management computer 100compares the total number of chips to be moved with the total number ofchips to be moved, and determines whether they match or not. If there isa discrepancy in any of the above comparisons, the chip managementcomputer 100 determines that the movement was not performed correctlyand issues an alert.

In the case of moving a plurality of gaming chips 70 from the game tableto the F/C bank room 13 (credits), the following applies. When a gamingchip 70 is moved from the game table to the F/C bank room 13, the dealerreads the chip ID of the moving gaming chip 70 using the table chipreader 153 at the game table. The table computer 151 reports the readchip ID to the chip management computer 100. The chip managementcomputer 100 stores the chip IDs of the plurality of gaming chips 70pertaining to the credits (source chip ID), and also obtains the facevalue of those chip IDs by referring to the chip management database 101based on the report, to obtain the total amount of gaming chips 70pertaining to the credits (source total amount). In this way, the chipmanagement computer 100 determines the source chip ID, the total numberof gaming chips 70 pertaining to the credits (source total number), andthe source total amount based on the information from the table computer151.

When the gaming chips 70 are brought to the F/C bank room 13, the F/Cbank staff 33 reads the chip IDs of the brought gaming chips 70 by theF/C bank chip reader 133, and the F/C bank computer 131 reports the readplurality of chip IDs to the chip management computer. The chipmanagement computer 100 stores those plurality of chip IDs (destinationchip IDs) and, based on the report, refers to the chip managementdatabase 101 to obtain the face values of those chip IDs to ascertainthe total amount of gaming chips 70 (destination total amount) forcredits. In this way, the chip management computer 100 determines thedestination chip ID, the total number of gaming chips 70 pertaining tothe credits (destination total number), and the destination total amountbased on the information from the F/C bank computer 131.

The chip management computer 100 compares the source chip ID and thedestination chip ID to determine whether or not they are an exact match.In addition, the chip management computer 100 compares the source totalamount and the destination total amount, and determines whether theymatch or not. In addition, the chip management computer 100 compares thesource total number and the destination total number, and determineswhether they match or not. If there is a discrepancy in any of the abovecomparisons, the chip management computer 100 determines that themovement was not performed correctly and issues an alert.

In the above, the chip ID, the total amount, and the total number ofchips are all compared, but only one of them may be compared todetermine whether or not the transfer was made correctly. The totalamount and the total number of chips may also be calculated and comparedfor each face value of the gaming chips 70. For example, the sourcetotal amount and the destination total amount may be calculated as “$600in $10 chips, $400 in $100 chips”.

If the chip management computer 100 notifies the destination or thesource of the move to encourage the move, at least one of the followingmay be performed: a comparison between the notification and the sourcetotal amount, a comparison between the notification and the destinationtotal amount, a comparison between the notification and the source totalnumber, and a comparison between the notification and the destinationtotal number so that it is possible to determine whether the move wasperformed accurately.

(MANAGEMENT OF FILL BY INCREASING AMOUNT AT GAME TABLE) When a gamingchip 70 is transported from the F/C bank room 13 to a game table and thegaming chip 70 is replenished at the game table (fill), the chip IDs ofthe gaming chips 70 being transported to the game table are read by theF/C bank chip reader 133, and the chip IDs of the gaming chips 70 arestored in the F/C bank chip reader 133. These chip IDs are reported fromthe F/C bank computer 131 to the chip management computer 100. The chipmanagement computer 100 calculates the total amount of the reportedgaming chips 70 (total fill amount) by referring to the chip managementdatabase 101.

By referring to the chip management database 101, the chip managementcomputer 100 extracts the gaming chips 70 in the game table prior to thefill and calculates the total amount of the gaming chips 70 (existingtotal amount). Then, the chip management computer 100 calculates thetheoretical total amount of gaming chips 70 in the game table after thefill (theoretical total amount after fill) by adding the total fillamount to the calculated existing total amount.

At a game table, when a gaming chip 70 is brought in from the F/C bankroom 13, the table chip reader 153 of the game table reads the chip IDof the brought-in gaming chip 70 and reports it to the chip managementcomputer 100 by the table computer 151. The chip management computer 100obtains the face values of the reported chip IDs by referring to thechip management database 101, and calculates the actual total amount ofgaming chips 70 in the chip tray (actual total amount after fill).

If the game table is equipped with a cabinet or has a double chip tray,i.e., if the game table has a place to store chips other than the chiptray, the table computer 151 calculates the total amount of gaming chips70 of the entire game table including the chip tray and such storageplace (but not including the player's gaming chips placed in the bettingarea), as the actual total amount after fill.

The chip management computer 100 compares the theoretical total amountafter fill with the actual total amount after fill, and issues an alertif the two do not match. With this configuration, it is possible tocheck whether the gaming chips 70 have been correctly increased at thegame table by fill.

Since the chip IDs of all gaming chips 70 leaving the F/C bank room 13are determined in the F/C bank room 13, and the chip IDs of all gamingchips 70 moving out of the F/C bank room 13 are determined in the gametable, when the theoretical total amount after fill and the actual totalamount after fill do not match, the chip ID of the gaming chip 70 thatcaused the discrepancy can be determined. The chip management computer100 changes the status of the gaming chip 70 that caused the discrepancyto “invalid”, “not redeemable”, “not playable”, etc.

In the above, the theoretical total amount after fill is compared withthe actual total amount after fill. In addition to or instead of theamount of gaming chips 70 (total amount), the number of chips (totalnumber) may be used to compare the theoretical total number of gamingchips 70 after the fill in the game table (theoretical total numberafter fill) with the actual total number of gaming chips 70 after thefill in the game table (actual total number of after fill) to determinewhether the fill is complete without excess or deficiency.

(MANAGEMENT OF CREDIT BY REDUCTION AT THE GAME TABLE) When excess gamingchips 70 at the game table are transported from the game table to theF/C bank room 13 (credit), the chip IDs of the gaming chips 70 beingtransported to the F/C bank room 13 are read by the table chip reader153, and these chip IDs are sent to the table computer 151. The chipmanagement computer 100 calculates the total amount (total creditamount) of the reported gaming chips 70 by referring to the chipmanagement database 101.

By referring to the chip management database 101, the chip managementcomputer 100 extracts the gaming chips 70 in the game table in questionprior to the credit in question and calculates the total amount (totalexisting amount). The chip management computer 100 then subtracts thetotal amount of credits from the calculated existing total amount tocalculate the theoretical total amount of gaming chips 70 at the gametable in question after the credit (theoretical total amount aftercredit).

At the game table, when the gaming chips 70 are transported toward theF/C bank room 13, the chip tray chip reader 154 of the game table readsthe chip ID of the gaming chips 70 stored at the game table, and thetable computer 151 reports the information to the chip managementcomputer 100. The chip management computer 100 obtains the face value ofthe reported chip IDs by referring to the chip management database 101,and calculates the actual total amount of gaming chips 70 in the chiptray (actual total amount after credit).

If the game table is equipped with a cabinet or has double chip trays,i.e., if the game table has a place to store chips other than the chiptray, the table computer 151 calculates the total amount of gaming chips70 of the entire game table including the chip tray and such storageplace (but not including the player's gaming chips placed in the bettingarea), as the actual total amount after credit.

The chip management computer 100 compares the theoretical total amountafter credit with the actual total amount after credit, and issues analert if the two do not match. With this configuration, it is possibleto check whether the gaming chips 70 are correctly reduced in the gametable by credits.

In the game table, since the chip IDs of all gaming chips 70 that arecarried from the game table to the F/C bank room 13 are known, and inthe F/C bank room 13, the chip IDs of all gaming chips 70 that have beenmoved from the game table are detected, if the theoretical total amountafter credit and the does not match the actual total amount aftercredit, the chip IDs of the gaming chips 70 that caused the discrepancycan be determined. The chip management computer 100 changes the statusof the gaming chip 70 that caused the mismatch to “invalid,” “notredeemable,” “not playable,” or other status.

In the above, the theoretical total amount after credit is compared withthe actual total amount after credit. In addition to or instead of theamount of gaming chips 70 (total amount), the number of chips (totalnumber) may be used to compare the theoretical total number of gamingchips 70 after credit in the game table (theoretical total number aftercredit) with the actual total number of gaming chips 70 after the creditin the game table (actual total number after credit) to determinewhether the credit is complete without excess or deficiency.

In the above, the total amount of credits is determined by reading thegaming chips 70 carried in the F/C bank room 13 with the table chipreader 153, and the theoretical total amount after credit is calculatedby subtracting the total amount of credits from the existing totalamount (the total amount of gaming chips 70 in the game table before thecredit). Instead of this, the theoretical total amount after credit canbe calculated in the following manner: If the chip management computer100 issues a notice to the game table urging it to credit, and the gametable credits in response to the notice, the total amount or the totalnumber of gaming chips 70 for credit (both of which may be specified foreach face value) specified in the notice may be used as the total creditamount, and the total amount after the theoretical credit may becalculated by subtracting the total credit amount from the existingtotal amount. After calculating the theoretical total amount of credit,in the same manner as described above, the chip management computer 100may compare the theoretical total amount after credit with the actualtotal amount after credit (the actual total amount of gaming chips 70after credit in the game table) to determine whether the specifiedamount or number of gaming chips 70 (the total amount of actual gamingchips 70 after credits at the game table) have left the game table forcredit.

(VERIFICATION BASED ON STAFF'S WORK SHIFT) The doors of the cage 10 arelocked to prevent the arbitrary entry of people, and staff can enter andleave the cage by meeting the security requirements. The same entry andexit security is also implemented between each room in the cage 10.Staff members working in the cage are required to be authenticated whenentering or leaving the cage or the room in which they work. Whenauthenticating a staff member to leave the room, the chip managementcomputer 100 verifies that there has been no inappropriate movement ofgaming chips 70 between the time the staff member entered the room andthat time. The chip management computer 100 will work with the lockingsystem and will not allow the staff to leave the room if there has beenan inappropriate movement of gaming chips 70.

Also at the game table, in the same way above, when the dealer leavesthe game table, the dealer will have his/her ID card read by the tablecard reader 152 with specifying the end of his/her shift. At this time,the chip management computer 100 verifies whether there have been anyinappropriate transfers of gaming chips 70 since the dealer took chargeof the game table in question, and issues an alert if there are anyinappropriate transfers. When a dealer is replaced, the chip managementcomputer 100 checks whether the gaming chips 70 that should be on thegaming table are indeed there after the dealer leaves the table andbefore the next dealer takes over the table, i.e., whether the dealerleaving the table has taken any gaming chips 70 from the gaming table.If there is a problem, the system will issue an alert.

At the game table, the gaming chips 70 may be stored in locations otherthan the chip tray. For example, the chip tray may be double-layered,and the refillable gaming chips 70 may be stored in the lower chip tray,or the refillable gaming chips 70 may be stored in a cabinet provided bythe game table. In these cases, it is desirable that the gaming table isalso equipped with an antenna for reading the RFID tags 71 of the gamingchips 70 so stored, and the table computer 151 is able to always readthe RFID tags 71 of all the gaming chips 70 in the gaming table.

(MONITORING IMPROPER PURCHASE/REDEMPTION BY PLAYERS) In this function,the chip management computer 100 verifies the history of the purchaseand redemption of gaming chips for each player and issues an alert ifthere is any suspicious activity. For example, if there is a purchase ofmore than a predetermined amount of gaming chips 70 and a redemption ofmore than a predetermined amount of gaming chips 70 within apredetermined time period, an alert is issued for such behavior assuspicious behavior. In addition, if the gaming chips 70 are about to beredeemed without being used at the game table after the gaming chips 70have been purchased, and the amount of such redemption is more than thepredetermined amount, an alert is also issued for such behavior assuspicious behavior. Alternatively, if a player purchases more than apredetermined amount of gaming chips 70 within a predetermined time, analert will be issued for such behavior as suspicious behavior.

(VALIDATION/INVALIDATION IN CAGE) The gaming chip 70 may be validate inthe cage 10. This ensures security in the event that a gaming chip 70 isstolen between the time it is manufactured and the time it is broughtinto the cage 10, since such a gaming chip 70 has not been validated andcannot be used. For this purpose, the chip management database 101 has atable that stores the chip IDs of valid gaming chips 70, and the chipmanagement computer 100 refers to the table each time the chip ID of agaming chip 70 is read by a chip reader at a cashier or game table todetermine whether the chip ID is valid or not.

When disposing of the gaming chip 70, the invalidation process is alsoperformed inside the cage 10 before the gaming chip 70 is taken outsidethe cage 10. This ensures security because even if a gaming chip 70taken outside the cage 10 for disposal is stolen, such a gaming chip 70cannot be used in a cashier or table.

(UNREGISTERED PLAYER) Even an unregistered player can purchase a gamingchip 70 and play games at the gaming table using the gaming chip 70. Forunregistered players, a common anonymous player ID is used. This allowsfor uninterrupted tracing of the gaming chip 70, even if the gaming chip70 is moved to an unregistered player as it moves from one location toanother, from leaving the cage 10 to returning to the cage 10.

(OTHER) A display device may be provided in the cashier's window to showthe total amount of gaming chips 70 and the result of the validation.The cashier staff places the gaming chips 70 to be given to the playeror received from the player on the cashier chip reader 143. The cashierchip reader 143 reads the face value and status stored in the RFID tag71 of the gaming chip 70 (usually more than one). The cashier computer141 displays on a display device the total value of the face value readby the cashier chip reader 143. In addition to the total amount, thenumber of the gaming chips 70 of each face value may be displayed.

The cashier computer 141 displays an error message on the display unitif there is a gaming chip 70 whose status is not valid among the readRFID tags 71, and displays a pass message on the display unit if thestatus of all gaming chips 70 is valid, or displays nothing. In additionto the status, the system may also display whether there has been anyimproper movement history up to that point. This allows the cashierstaff and the player to agree on the validity and the total amount ofthe gaming chips to be given to the player or received from the playerto give or receive the gaming chips 70.

In the above embodiment, when the RFID tag 71 of the gaming chip 70 isread by the chip reader at each location, the chip management computer100 confirms the validity of the chip ID by verifying whether the readchip ID is that of a valid chip, and if there is a problem, an alert maybe issued. For this purpose, a table of valid chip IDs is recorded inthe chip management database 101, and the chip management computer 100refers to this table to verify whether the chip ID read at each locationis valid. The chip IDs may be encrypted.

In the above embodiment, in addition to or instead of issuing an alert,the chip management computer 100 may flag the corresponding player,gaming chip 70, or movement history record to indicate an abnormalityand record the time.

The configuration of the rooms in cage 10 is not limited to thosedescribed above, and the number of rooms and the arrangement of therooms may be arbitrary. The game table may be a table for playingbaccarat, blackjack, or other card games, and the game hall may includelocations for playing other games, such as roulette, in addition to thegame table.

Each of the above computers is equipped with a processor and memory, andthe processor performs the above operations by executing a computerprogram stored in the memory. The program may be provided to thecomputer by a non-transitory storage medium, or may be provided to thecomputer in the form of a download. The communication between computersmay be wired or wireless. In addition, in the above implementation,staff and players were identified at each location by each card readerreading an ID card, but instead of ID cards, staff and players may beidentified by biometrics such as fingerprints, facial images, irises,and voice prints.

In the above embodiment, each room in the cage 10 and the game table areused as examples of locations to explain the management of the movementof gaming chips 70 between locations, but the examples of locations arenot limited to these. For example, a chip tray at a game table where thedealer collects chips and dispenses redemption chips from it, a cabinetat a table where gaming chips are stored, and the upper and lower chiptrays in the case where the chip tray consists of two tiers can each bea location of the above, embodiment. The movement of gaming chips 70between the respective locations can be managed in the same manner asdescribed above.

For example, the chip ID, total amount, and/or total number of gamingchips 70 removed from the cabinet of a certain game table can bedetermined, and an alert can be issued when the chip ID, total amount,and/or total number of chips have not been moved to the chip tray of thesame game table within a predetermined time. This can be done in thefollowing way. For example, in a certain double chip tray, the systemmay confirm that the gaming chips 70 removed from the lower chip trayhave been moved to the upper chip tray, or that the gaming chips 70removed from the upper chip tray have been moved to the lower chip tray.

When a fill is performed, the gaming chips 70 brought from the F/C bankroom 13 to the game table are read using the dealer antenna 513, bettingarea antenna 515, or tray antenna 514. The chip tray is equipped withbuttons to recognize the start and end of the fill operation, and thegaming chips 70 in the chip tray before the fill are compared to thegaming chips 70 in the chip tray after the fill, and the gaming chips 70increased by the fill are recognized as filled gaming chips 70.

When credit is performed, the gaming chips 70 that are carried to theF/C bank room 13 are read by the dealer antenna 513, betting areaantenna 515, or chip tray antenna 514. The chip tray is equipped withbuttons to recognize the beginning and end of the credit operation, andthe gaming chips 70 in the chip tray before credit are compared with thegaming chips 70 after credit, and the gaming chips 70 reduced by creditare recognized as gaming chips 70 to be credited.

The chip management computer 100 may be capable of outputting theinventory (chip ID) of chips in each location (cage, chip tray, etc.).The chip management computer 100 may be able to specify a point in timein the past and output the inventory at that point in time.

The chip management computer 100 may also be able to issue an alert whena suspicious gaming chip (flagged gaming chip) is about to be redeemedat the cashier.

The chip management database 101 may also be able to store theredemption history of each player. The chip management computer 100 maybe able to output the chip ID that the player should have.

Information such as the chip set, casino information, locationinformation, and redemption possibility may be written to the RFID tag71. Alternatively, such information may be associated with the chip IDand stored in the chip management database 101. The chip managementcomputer 100 or a computer at each location may inspect the RFID tag 71when it is read at a location to see if it is the gaming chip 70 thatshould be at that location based on the information.

In addition, a set of gaming chips 70 (chip set) that can be used ineach area and the type of gaming chips may be set. For example, when anRFID tag 71 is read at a certain gaming table, the table computer 151 orchip management computer 100 inspects whether it is a chip set that isallowed to be used at that gaming table.

The gaming chips 70 that have been in use for a certain number of yearsmay be flagged in association with the chip ID. The gaming chips thathave been in use for a certain number of years can be collected withspecifying a collecting location. If a player is in possession of agaming chip 70 that has been in use for a certain number of years, asignal will be output when the chip ID is detected by the cashier orgame table.

When a player in possession of a gaming chip 70 that may have beenstolen arrives at the table, the table computer 151 or chip managementcomputer may issue a warning to the staff (watchman). The cashiercomputer 141 or the chip management computer 100 detects chips that arepurchased and then redeemed without being played to prevent moneylaundering.

The cashier associates the player's photo with the chip ID when a playerredeems or purchases chips above a threshold amount. Also, anonymousplayers (players without member cards) will be given a unique ID totrace their chips. For anonymous players, their faces may bephotographed at the time of chip purchase, and the player ID may beassociated with the face image and registered in the chip managementdatabase 101. At each subsequent location (table, cashier, etc.), theplayer ID may be identified by face recognition. The chip managementcomputer 100 may set the status of all chips associated with theblacklisted player as invalid.

When a player without a member card wagers a gaming chip 70 at a gametable, the chip management computer 100 records the play in the chipmanagement database 101 by linking the play to the unique ID issued onthe spot and/or the player ID associated with the gaming chip 70. Atthis time, a facial image or ID from facial recognition may be tied tothe play. If the member card is recognized later, the play record may betied to the member card ID retroactively.

The above embodiment discloses the technology described in the followingappendices.

(Appendix A1) A casino system in a casino that uses casino item with anRFID tag that stores identification information, the casino systemcomprising: a registration device configured to register theidentification information of the casino item to be used in the casino;and a storage device configured to store a first list of theidentification information registered by the registration device,wherein the first list includes status information that indicateswhether or not the casino item is usable, the registration device isconfigured to set the status information usable for the casino item thathave already been registered, when using in the casino.

(Appendix A2) The casino system according to Appendix A1, wherein theregistration device is configured to set the status information usablefor the casino item that has already been registered and is stored in astorage location, when taking out the casino item from the storagelocation for use in the casino.

(Appendix A3) The casino system according to Appendix A1, wherein theregistration device is configured, when the identification informationin a second list provided by a manufacturer of the casino item matchesthe identification information stored in the RFID tag of the casinoitem, to store the identification information in the first list.

(Appendix A4) The casino system according to Appendix A1, wherein theregistration device is configured to store the identificationinformation in the first list for the casino item for which, at themanufacturer of the casino item, it is determined that theidentification information in the second list matches the identificationinformation stored in the RFID tag of the casino item.

(Appendix A5) The casino system according to Appendix A1, furthercomprising: a reading device configured to read the RFID tags of aplurality of the casino items housed in a case, wherein the registrationdevice is configured to register a plurality of the identificationinformation read by the reading device.

(Appendix A6) The casino system according to Appendix A1, wherein theregistration device is configured to perform a cancellation process toset the status information of the casino item unusable, when the casinoitem whose status information is usable satisfies a predeterminedcondition.

(Appendix A7) The casino system according to Appendix A6, wherein theregistration device is configured, for the casino item for which acancellation process has been performed and that satisfies thepredetermined conditions, to set the status information of the casinoitem usable again.

(Appendix A8) The casino system according to Appendix A6, wherein thestatus information indicating that the casino item is unusable includesat least one of the following: information indicating that the casinoitem is unusable; information indicating that the casino item issuspected to be fraudulent; information indicating that the status ofthe casino item is unknown; information indicating that the itemrequires attention; and information indicating that the item has beendiscarded.

(Appendix A9) The casino system according to Appendix A6, furthercomprising: a reading device configured to read the identificationinformation from the RFID tag of the casino item, wherein theregistration device is configured to perform the cancellation processfor the casino items for which the identification information cannot beeffectively read by the reading device.

(Appendix A10) The casino system according to Appendix A9, furthercomprising: a reading device configured to read the identificationinformation from the RFID tag of the casino item, wherein the casinoitem carries information for identifying the casino item in a mannerother than the RFID tag, the registration device is configured toperform the cancellation process for the casino item from which theidentification information cannot be read by the reading device byidentifying the casino item to be performed the cancellation processusing the information for identifying the casino item.

(Appendix A11) The casino system according to Appendix A6, wherein theregistration device is configured to perform the cancellation processfor the casino item that are related to or suspected to be related to anillegal game.

(Appendix A12) The casino system according to Appendix A6, furthercomprising: a reading device configured to read the identificationinformation from the RFID tag of the casino item, wherein the casinoitem carries information for identifying the casino item in a mannerother than the RFID tag, the registration device is configured, when theidentification information read from the RFID tag of the casino item bythe reading device is not registered in the storage device as anidentification information of a usable casino item, to perform thecancellation process by identifying the casino item to be performed thecancellation process using the information for identifying the casinoitem.

(Appendix A13) The casino system according to Appendix A6, wherein theRFID tag stores manufacturing information indicating the manufacturingsituation of the casino item, type information indicating a type of thecasino item, and/or information indicating a casino where the casinoitem is used, the storage device is configured to store themanufacturing information, the type information, and/or the casinoinformation corresponding to the identification information along withthe identification information, the registration device is configured,when the manufacturing information, the type information, and/or thecasino information stored in the RFID tag and the manufacturinginformation, said type information, and/or said casino informationstored in the storage device do not match, to perform the cancellationprocess for the casino item having the identification information.

(Appendix A14) The casino system according to Appendix A6, wherein theregistration device is configured to store in the storage deviceinformation indicating year and month in which the identificationinformation of the casino item was registered, and perform thecancellation process for the casino item for which a predeterminedperiod of time has elapsed since the year and month of registration byreferring to the storage device.

(Appendix A15) The casino system according to Appendix A6, wherein eachof a plurality of casino item handling locations in the casino isequipped with a management device configured to notify the registrationdevice of the identification information of the casino item to becanceled the registration as a usable casino item, the registrationdevice is configured to perform the cancellation process for the casinoitem indicated by the notification from the management device.

(Appendix A16) The casino system according to Appendix A15, furthercomprising: a storage tray configured to store the casino item owned bythe casino at the casino item handling location; a reading deviceconfigured to monitor the casino item by periodically reading the RFIDtag of the casino item stored in the storage tray, wherein the readingdevice is configured to perform the cancellation process for the casinoitem illegally taken out of the storage tray.

(Appendix A17) The casino system according to Appendix A6, wherein thecasino uses a plurality of types of the casino item, for each of theplurality of types of casino item, the registration device is configuredto store the type of the casino item along with the identificationinformation in the storage device, the registration device is configuredto perform the cancellation process for a specific type of the casinoitem.

(Appendix A18) The casino system according to Appendix A6, wherein eachof the plurality of casino item handling locations in the casino isequipped with a reading device configured to read the identificationinformation from the RFID tag of the casino item, the registrationdevice is configured, when the same identification information is readby the reading device at the plurality of casino item handling locationsand the combination of the readings satisfies a condition fordetermining fraud, to perform the cancellation process for the casinoitem having the identification information.

(Appendix A19) The casino system according to Appendix A6, wherein eachof the plurality of casino item handling locations in the casino isequipped with a reading device configured to read the identificationinformation from the RFID tag of the casino item, the registrationdevice is configured to perform the cancellation process for the casinoitem with the identification information that is not read by the readingdevice at any of the casino item handling locations in the casino for apredetermined period of time or longer.

(Appendix A20) The casino system according to Appendix A6, furthercomprising a reading device configured to read the identificationinformation from the RFID tag of the casino item to be canceled theregistration, the registration device is configured to perform thecancellation process for the identification information read by thereading device.

(Appendix A21) The casino system according to Appendix A6, furthercomprising a detection device configured to detect the casino itembrought in from outside the casino, at an entrance of the casino,wherein the registration device is configured to perform thecancellation process for the casino item detected by the detectiondevice.

(Appendix A22) The casino system according to Appendix A1, wherein theregistration device is configured to store the identificationinformation of the casino item that satisfies a predetermined conditionamong the casino item for which the cancellation process has beenperformed in the storage device as identification information thatcannot be registered, and when a new registration is made, if theidentification information of the casino item for the registration isstored in the storage device as the identification information thatcannot be registered, cancel the registration.

(Appendix A23) The casino system according to any of Appendices A1 toA22, wherein the casino item can be used by a player in a casino to betin a game and can be exchanged for cash.

(Appendix A24) A casino item with an RFID tag storing identificationinformation, used in a casino system according to any of Appendices A1to A23.

(Appendix B1) A casino system in a casino at which a casino items withRFID tags that store identification information are used, the casinosystem is located at a casino item handling location, the casino systemcomprising: a storage device configured to store a list of theregistered identification information; a reading device configured toread the identification information from the RFID tag of the casinoitem; a verification device configured to check the identificationinformation read from the casino item by the reading device against theidentification information stored in the storage device.

(Appendix B2) The casino system according to Appendix B1, furthercomprising: an optical counting device configured to optically count thenumber of the casino items, wherein the verification device configuredto inspect the casino item by comparing the number of the RFID tags readby the reading device with the number of the RFID tags counted by theoptical counting device.

(Appendix B3) The casino system according to Appendix B2, furthercomprising: a display device configured to display a result of readingby the reading device and/or a result of verification by theverification device, wherein the reading device includes an antenna anda reader, and the storage device, the antenna, the reader, theverification device, the display device, and the optical counting deviceare integrally configured.

(Appendix B4) The casino system according to Appendix B1, comprising: aholding mechanism configured to hold a predetermined number of thecasino items for which the RFID tags are read by the reading device,wherein the verification device configured to inspect the casino item bycomparing the number of the RFID tags read by the reading device withthe predetermined number.

(Appendix B5) The casino system according to Appendix B4, furthercomprising: a display device configured to display a result of readingby the reading device and/or a result of verification by theverification device, wherein the reading device includes an antenna anda reader, and the storage device, the antenna, the reader, theverification device, the display device, and the holding mechanism areintegrally configured.

(Appendix B6) The casino system according to Appendix B1, wherein theRFID tag is configured to store information that can identify a value ofthe casino item, the verification device is configured to compare thenumber of the RFID tags read by the reading device with an actual numberof the casino items, the casino system further comprises a displaydevice configured to display the value of each of the plurality ofcasino items read by the reading device or a total value of theplurality of casino items read by the reading device, as a result of thereading by the reading device, and/or display a result of comparisonbetween the number of RFID tags and the actual number of the casinoitems, as a result of verification by the verification device.

(Appendix B7) The casino system according to Appendices B3 or B5,wherein the integrally configured casino system is powered by a battery.

(Appendix B8) The casino system according to Appendix B1, furthercomprising a central system to which a plurality of the casino systemsare communicatively connected, wherein the central system is configuredto update the list stored in the storage device of each of the pluralityof the casino systems.

(Appendix B9) The casino system according to Appendix B8, wherein thecentral system is configured to update the list on a regular basis or ata timing that satisfies a predetermined condition.

(Appendix B10) The casino system according to Appendix B1, furthercomprising a central system to which a plurality of the casino systemsare communicatively connected, wherein the central system comprises: acentral storage device configured to store a list of the registeredidentification information, and a central verification device configuredto check the identification information read from the casino items andtransmitted from the casino system against the identificationinformation stored in the central storage device.

(Appendix B11) The casino system according to Appendix B10, wherein theverification device is normally configured to compare the identificationinformation read by the reading device with the identificationinformation read immediately before by the reading device, and whenthere is a difference between the two, verify the identificationinformation read by the reading device with the identificationinformation stored in the central memory device.

(Appendix B12) The casino system according to Appendix B10, wherein theverification device is configured to, when the identificationinformation read by the reading device includes new identificationinformation that is not included in the identification information readby the reading device immediately before, verify the new identificationinformation read by the reading device with the identificationinformation stored in the central memory device.

(Appendix B13) The casino system according to Appendix B10, wherein theverification device is normally configured to compare the identificationinformation read by the reading device with the identificationinformation read immediately before by the reading device, and underpredetermined conditions, check the identification information read bythe reading device against the identification information of the casinoitems stored in the central memory device.

(Appendix B14) The casino system according to Appendix B10, wherein theidentification information includes tag identification informationassigned by the manufacturer who manufactured the RFID tag and itemidentification information assigned by the manufacturer who manufacturedthe casino item to which the RFID tag is attached.

(Appendix B15) The casino system according to Appendix B14, wherein theverification device is normally configured to compare the itemidentification information read from the casino items by the readingdevice with the item identification information read immediately beforeby the reading device, and at a predetermined timing and/or under apredetermined condition, check the tag identification information readfrom the casino item by the reading device against the tagidentification information of the casino item stored in the storagedevice.

(Appendix B16) The casino system according to any of Appendices B1 toB15, wherein the casino items can be used by a player in a casino to betin a game and can be redeemed for cash.

(Appendix B17) A casino item with an RFID tag storing identificationinformation, used in a casino system according to any of Appendices B1to B16.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCES 31 Warehouse 720 Chip case 32 Procedureroom 722 Barcode 33 Cashier 721 RFID tags 34 Bank 1 Casino hall 35 Pit10 Cage 36 Table 11 Vault 72 Gaming chip 12 Main bank room 73 Data file13 F/C bank room 74 Player 14 Cashier room 75 Dealer 21-28 Gates 100RFID tag manufacturing factory 831-836 Staffs 200 Chip manufacturingfactory 42-45 Game tables 211 TID area 52-55 Dealers 212 EPC area 61-69Players 300 Casino 70 Gaming Chip 301 Security area 71 RFID tag 302Floor area 1000 Chip management system 320 Procedure room system 501Cage system 321 Antenna 502 Table system 322 Activation reader/writer100 Chip management computer 323 Central verification device 101 Chipmanagement database 324 Input device 111 Vault computer 325 Registrationdevice 112 Vault card reader 326 Database 113 Vault chip reader 327 Barcode readers 121 Main bank computer 328 Operation devices 122 Main bankcard reader 330 Cashier system 123 Main bank chip reader 340 Bank system131 F/C bank computer 350 Pit system 132 F/C bank card reader 360 Tablesystem 133 F/C bank chip reader 141 Cashier computer 152 Table cardreader 142 Cashier card reader 153 Table chip reader 143 Cashier chipreader 154 Chip tray reader 151 Table computer 155 Betting area chipreader

1. A casino system in a casino at which casino items with RFID tags thatstore identification information are used, the casino system is locatedat a casino item handling location, the casino system comprising: astorage device configured to store a list of the identificationinformation that is registered; a reading device configured to read theidentification information from the RFID tag of a casino item of thecasino items; and a verification device configured to check theidentification information read from the casino item by the readingdevice against the identification information stored in the storagedevice.
 2. The casino system according to claim 1, further comprising anoptical counting device configured to optically count a number of thecasino items, wherein the verification device configured to inspect thecasino item by comparing the number of the RFID tags read by the readingdevice with the number of the RFID tags counted by the optical countingdevice.
 3. The casino system according to claim 2, further comprising adisplay device configured to display a result of reading by the readingdevice and/or a result of verification by the verification device,wherein: the reading device includes an antenna and a reader, and thestorage device, the antenna, the reader, the verification device, thedisplay device, and the optical counting device are integrallyconfigured.
 4. The casino system according to claim 1, furthercomprising a holding mechanism configured to hold a predetermined numberof the casino items for which the RFID tags are read by the readingdevice, wherein the verification device configured to inspect the casinoitem by comparing the number of the RFID tags read by the reading devicewith the predetermined number.
 5. The casino system according to claim4, further comprising a display device configured to display a result ofreading by the reading device and/or a result of verification by theverification device, wherein: the reading device includes an antenna anda reader, and the storage device, the antenna, the reader, theverification device, the display device, and the holding mechanism areintegrally configured.
 6. The casino system according to claim 1,wherein: the RFID tag of the casino item is configured to storeinformation that can identify a value of the casino item, theverification device is configured to compare a number of the RFID tagsread by the reading device with an actual number of the casino items,and the casino system further comprises a display device configured todisplay a value of each of a plurality of casino items read by thereading device or a total value of the plurality of casino items read bythe reading device, as a result of the reading by the reading device,and/or display a result of comparison between the number of RFID tagsand the actual number of the casino items, as a result of verificationby the verification device.
 7. The casino system according to claim 3 or5, wherein the integrally configured casino system is configured to bepowered by a battery.
 8. The casino system according to claim 1, furthercomprising a central system to which a plurality of casino systems arecommunicatively connected, wherein the central system is configured toupdate the list stored in the storage device of each of the plurality ofcasino systems.
 9. The casino system according to claim 8, wherein thecentral system is configured to update the list on a regular basis or ata timing that satisfies a predetermined condition.
 10. The casino systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising a central system to which aplurality of casino systems are communicatively connected, wherein thecentral system comprises: a central storage device configured to storethe list of the identification information that is registered, and acentral verification device configured to check the identificationinformation read from the casino items and transmitted from the casinosystem against the identification information stored in the centralstorage device.
 11. The casino system according to claim 10, wherein theverification device is configured to compare the identificationinformation read by the reading device with the identificationinformation read immediately before by the reading device, and whenthere is a difference between the two, verify the identificationinformation read by the reading device with the identificationinformation stored in the central storage device.
 12. The casino systemaccording to claim 10, wherein the verification device is configured to,when the identification information read by the reading device includesnew identification information that is not included in theidentification information read by the reading device before, verify thenew identification information read by the reading device with theidentification information stored in the central storage device.
 13. Thecasino system according to claim 10, wherein the verification device isconfigured to compare the identification information read by the readingdevice with the identification information read before by the readingdevice, and under predetermined conditions, check the identificationinformation read by the reading device against the identificationinformation of the casino items stored in the central storage device.14. The casino system according to claim 10, wherein the identificationinformation includes tag identification information assigned by amanufacturer of the RFID tag and item identification informationassigned by a manufacturer of the casino item to which the RFID tag isattached.
 15. The casino system according to claim 14, wherein theverification device is configured to compare the item identificationinformation read from the casino items by the reading device with theitem identification information read before by the reading device, andat a predetermined timing and/or under a predetermined condition, checkthe tag identification information read from the casino item by thereading device against the tag identification information of the casinoitem stored in the storage device.
 16. The casino system according toclaim 1, wherein the casino items can be used by a player in a casino tobet in a game and can be redeemed for cash.
 17. A casino item with anRFID tag storing identification information, used in a casino systemaccording to claim 1.